Needing You
by Aimz619
Summary: Stephanie McMahon's life is in crisis. With her brother, will she be able to regain her life with the help of the WWE? (Set in the future: End of 2006 onwards)
1. The Beginning

Hi guys! This is my 1st ever wrestling fanfic! In fact...this is only my 2nd fanfic EVER! I hope you like the story, I think it's different from the majority of other wrestling fics. Any comments or feedback, positive or negative, are welcome! Enjoy!

**Author:** Aimee (aimz619)

**Title:** Needing You

**Synopsis:** Stephanie McMahon's life is in crisis. With her help of her brother, will she be able to regain her life with the help of the WWE? (Set in te future: End of 2006 onwards)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the wrestlers or companies mentioned in this story.

* * *

Stephanie sat crying in her brother's arms, his heart broke for her. She had been through so much and he hadn't realised exactly how much she had been through, but now he knew the truth about her and Hunter. Triple H. The Game. Wife Cheater. Wife Beater. It had been a couple of weeks since he had done a 'Steve Austin' and not shown up to any shows. Trish Stratus, on 'extended vacation', was the butt of all the rumours around the locker room along with Hunter. Now Shane's sister had confirmed the truth. 

"Everything makes sense now…why you left your job and why you haven't been in touch. I'm so sorry Steph…I don't really know what to say."

Stephanie wept. "Just say that you won't tell Mom and Dad the truth. Tell me that you'll be there for me and Ella."

Shane looked down at Ella, fast asleep in her carry cot. It angered him that such a beautiful child would constantly link his sister to her former husband. He looked up at her and gave her a weak smile. She smiled back, her face was red and blotchy and black make-up ran down it in streaks.

"Of course I'll be here for you. I love you little sis."

There was a knock at the door and Stephanie almost jumped out of her skin. Hunter's abuse had left her paranoid, fearful and fragile.

Shane yelled. "Who is it?"

"Mr McMahon, your father has sent the contracts that you asked for."

"Thank you Robert. I'm with Stephanie at the moment. Will you please keep hold of them until the Raw briefing?"

"Yes sir."

Shane's attention turned back to his sister, who was shaking. He held her tightly and lovingly rubbed her back to try and calm her. He was a little confused when he felt her wince in pain. He looked down to see a large purple bruise at the base of her spine. He let go of their embrace and looked into her bloodshot eyes.

"Did he do that to you?"

Steph's eyes turned away from him to the floor…then to Ella. "No, this wasn't Hunter. It was…a…bump I took…which brings me to the other reason I'm here."

Shane was confused. "A bump…you mean a wrestling bump?"

"Yeah. When I told Dad that I wanted to leave the business, I only half wanted to. Part of me went missing the day I left here. But at the time, it was the only way I could get away from him…Hunter. I had to lose my link with the business so that he would lose his link with the business. He would have no reason to stay with me. Now everything has worked according to my plan. Hunter has left with one of the many women he was sleeping with, now Ella and I are safe."

Steph looked up to her brother as he put together the pieces in his head.

Steph continued. "Everyday I stay at home, Shane, and the door knocks…my first thought is 'it's him, he's back'. I live in fear of the door knocking and I'm starting to go mad. Two weeks is enough and I want out, I want to be with you…on the road again. I'm safe with you."

Shane nodded. "So what's going to happen? I could give your 50 share in the business…just like Dad always planned until you left. It's not easy being the owner of the WWE and living up to Dad's standards!"

Steph smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Poor little Shane, owning the largest wrestling company in the United States. Shane, I'd love to be your partner…or even if you didn't want to share the company with me I'd be happy with my old job back. But if I take back some power in the company, Hunter could come back and try and take the power for himself. We're not divorced yet either. Plus, I don't think my head can take anymore mental strain. I just wanna go back to my passion, you know? And wrestling is my passion. Being with Hunter has and will make me a strong person, physically and mentally. But at the moment, I only feel physically strong. Shane, I wanna be a wrestler. I want to train my ass off and surround myself with the fans. You know what it feels like to be out there, that's what I need. I need the fans to be by medicine."

Shane sat thinking. His sister was so right, she was strong and clever and beautiful. He laughed in his head…'brains…beauty…bitch!'

"Do you need me to contact anyone? OVW?"

Steph smiled. "I'm the queen of wrestling contacts. You remember that quite little training place in Tampa that Kevin Nash introduced to us. It's the last place Hunter would think of. I've got a flight booked for Florida tonight, it's in five hours. In fact I better be going."

She stood up and took a tissue. Shane helped her clear her face and gather her belongings together. Steph picked up her bag in one hand and the handle of Ella's cot in the other as Shane opened the door for her. Before they parted, Steph looked at her brother one last time, kissed him on the cheek and said:

"The sooner we get out of here the better. And the further away we are from Hunter and his Canadian ranch, the better."

Shane stood as he watched his sister walk the long corridor, accompanied by a security guard. Steph giggled and turned back to look at him one last time, with that toothy smile Shane liked so much.

She yelled down the corridor. "See you in a few months!"

He grinned. "Goodbye Scruff!"

"Goodbye Chubbs!"

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter! Expect another update tomorrow, as I'm so excited by this story I'm going to carry on writing now! 

Below is a kind of APPENDIX for the chapter, just so the facts are laid down for you guys that got a bit confused by this chapter:

1. The scene takes place October 2006 at a Raw Arena.

2. Vince McMahon has retired, Shane has sole inheritance of the WWE franchise.

3. Stephanie was to inherit the business with Hunter but decided to quit the wrestling business for personal reasons.

4. Stephanie and Hunter are separated after Hunter physically and mentally abused her. His whole relationship with her was based on the fact that she would inherit the company with him. When Stephanie changed that it didn't take long for Hunter to leave her. It is believed that The Game is currently residing in Toronto after quitting the wrestling industry. It is generallybelieved that he is in a relationship with Trish Stratus, one of several women Hunter was with whilst married to Stephanie.

5. Stephanie and Hunter have a four month old daughter Ella McMahon. She is the reason that Stephanie decided to get rid of Hunter.

6. Stephanie's long term plans are to train as a WWE wrestler and stay on the road with her brother and wrestling family.

Anything else that isn't quite clear, feel free to ask in the feedback section.


	2. The Comeback

**Title:** Needing You

**Author:** Aimz619

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shane McMahon, JR, the WWE or any of it's wrestlers mentioned. This is a fictional story and I hope you like it!

* * *

It was January 2006. Shane was settling down into the routine of being the head-honcho of the WWE. He was well respected by the staff, even though sometimes his far-fetched decisions were a little…confusing. After several hirings and firings, Shane felt comfortable sat with the people in his meeting today.

Michelle, Shane's second in command, began the meeting. "Right you guys, I'm glad that you could all be here today. In case you were wondering the lady in the corner is April, she's my new personal secretary and she is taking the minutes today. Apologises come from Bobby, Graham, JR and Stephanie. Lucy called to say she is stuck in the traffic and will be slightly late. Now you guys all know why we are here today. Basically, we'd like you to pitch your Wrestlemania ideas to us one-by-one. Shane, Kennedy and I will be meeting to discuss your ideas and then we will assign the Wrestlemania matches to you next Thursday so that you can start writing the storylines and feuds for the build up to Wrestlemania. Is that clear enough? Does anyone have any questions?"

A guy half-heartedly raised a hand and then spoke. "Have the main events already been decided?"

Kennedy spoke up before Michelle could answer. "Three matches have been confirmed so far. They are Batista vs. Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship, Cena vs. Big Show vs. Booker T for the WWE Championship, and Taker vs. Kane, resulting in the retirement of both wrestlers. We haven't confirmed the results of these matches yet. Any other questions?"

The table shook their heads, then Kennedy signalled for two of the guys to start presenting their ideas. They were the managers or 'team leaders' for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Next spoke the WWE Cruiserweight Champion representatives. Then the Look-overs (in charge of creating unique matches that would provide breaks in between the intensive matches). Next came the Woman's Champion representatives…a young woman and grey-haired man.

Michelle cleared her throat. "Lucy and Fred, you may begin when you're ready."

The pair looked at each other awkwardly.

Lucy finally spoke. "The job we have here in the WWE can be such a touch one. You have to come up with unique and original ideas. The ones that have been proposed so far have been incredible, they are about to put our idea to shame."

The group looked puzzled. Fred interrupted Lucy. "Lucy and I have spent many days and nights thinking of where we could take the Woman's Division. Working with such a small group of women has now become a problem for us. The current Woman's Champion as you should know is Stacy Kiebler. Since she started her training programme her wrestling skills have improved beyond our expectations and she is popular with the fans. But our dilemma is trying to find a 'Diva' to put with her to create a better than average Woman's match."

Lucy took over. "We have looked into every possibility. Our 1st candidate was Victoria. But a recent injury has left her left knee too weak to compete to a high standard. We then looked at the Divas on Smackdown…"

The group around the table chuckled. Divas on Smackdown wrestling…yeah right!

Lucy smiled. "I guess I don't have to say anymore. Finally we looked at the remaining Divas on Raw. Lita is on maternity leave, Trish is involved in the Edge/Batista match and Christy is a no-go road after Wrestlemania 21, all the rest are non-wrestlers. Therefore, the idea we propose today, is to bring in another Diva to compete for the Title at Wrestlemania."

Lucy gulped as there was an awkward silence around the table. Everyone knew that it was virtually a rule that new talent is never brought in for Wrestlemania. It always caused loads of problems, especially with the wrestler's morale backstage. Who wants to be the one telling Christy Hemme that she's being overlooked for a title shot at Wrestlemania for some unknown diva?

No-one at the table realised that twinkle in Shane McMahon's eye. He had always hoped that this situation would happen. He knew the perfect candidate for the title shot.

One man at the table spoke up. "What about Jewel? The new girl doing the dark matches?"

"She's very talented. But her wresting technique is too similar to Stacy's. They have been on the same training programme together. We did consider her as an option, but as well as being too inexperienced in the ring, her look…blonde with long legs…is too similar to Stacy's."

"We've been looking at potential girls, we have a candidate here from…"

"Stephanie McMahon."

The table looked round to Shane, who hadn't spoken during the whole meeting. He stood up to address their confused gazes.

"Stephanie McMahon…my sister…has been training for several months now, hiding from her ex-husband Hunter. Now I'm sure you don't need to hear the details…everyone has heard the rumours. She'll be perfect for the job. Her look and style will be completely different to Stacy's, plus she's not a complete nobody to the fans. We can work the shock factor into the angle."

Not one person dare speak up against the chairman.

Fred was excited about the idea. "I really think this could work! We could announce the match maybe a week before the show. It'll be a mini-shocker for the fans!

Shane smiled. "Well guys, that's you sorted! Who's next to present?"

* * *

I hoped you liked this guys. Quite liked the informalness of the meeting on 1st name terms. Shane is the WWE Godfather! Will update in a couple of days hopefully. All feedback is welcome!


	3. Welcome Home!

Hi guys! For all of you that are actually reading this story I'm sorry for the long time no-update. I got lots of stuff going on at home, but am taking these few hours I have spare to write this chapter. The stories not going as well as I hoped it would, I think it's kind of slow to get into but when you set the story in the future you have to set up the whole background of everything that's happening. It's quite annoying! I even had to go back and check through details from the other two chapters, so I hope everything corresponds with each other. Can't be bothered to do a disclaimer and the rest of the info, just look at the previous chapters if you really want to read it (if you're really that boring!). Enjoy guys!

* * *

Stephanie was tired. In fact, she was beyond tired. Being in Florida had changed her, not just physically…but mentally. She was a whole new person, transformed from her former self. She was mostly happy, slightly shy and occasionally jumpy…especially around men. But who could blame her? Everything she had been through before she fled her home had been one big trauma for her. Her world revolved around her daughter, that would never change. But in a few hours she would be protected by her brother again. She could come out of hiding, be brought back to the people who knew her and worried about her. Hunter would always be in the back of her mind, but at least Florida had turned her pregnancy puppy fat to muscle so she could pack a punch!

Shane stood in the airport, accompanied by Kennedy and Michelle. Kennedy and Michelle were close friends and business associates with Shane. Michelle was an old friend from college specialising in law and business management, Kennedy an ex-WWE wrestler from the 90s…forced into early retirement from a potentially fatal spine injury. Kennedy had become close to Shane as young wrestlers, Shane was sympathetic and helped him through his injury. The three of them together had turned around Vince's WWE to make it more popular than ever, their profits and shares in the company were rising and all three were some of the wealthiest people in the country.

All three stood in business suits…waiting. Michelle's phone was constantly ringing and Kennedy just stood silently playing the 'bodyguard' for Shane. Shane just thought through everything. It was now mid-February, Steph had been training for only four months and Wrestlemania was a couple of weeks away. Shane had no idea of what Stephanie's wrestling skills were like; Tampa's training camp was so small that they didn't have any recording equipment to film her. In fact, on the phone Shane remembered to agreeing with Stephanie that Steph would be responsible for planning the match. Was his relationship with his sister making this whole idea a huge mistake?

Stephanie was one of the first people off of the plane. The flight had been a long one and her body was constantly aching from training. Steph was a bit of a gym/wrestling junkie and found herself restless on the plane. She rubbed her face to try and get some life back into it; she didn't want her brother to think anything was wrong with her. She ran her fingers over her long dark hair to straighten it, then gathered her things and left the plane. Ella began to whimper as Steph hurried quickly down the corridors, anxious to see her brother. She turned one last corner to see the three, stood in there posh suits and Shane grinning with a tacky 'Welcome home!' banner in his hand.

"Scruffs!" he yelled to her.

Steph had to restrain her urges to run to him for the sake of Ella, who was sleeping in her arms. Instead Shane ran to her and hugged her around her shoulders, kissing her on the cheeks but being careful not to hurt Ella.

"Hey Shane! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too! How's my little niece doing?"

"She's fine now, she spent most of the plane journey crying. She's only just fallen asleep. Figures she'd quieten down just as you leave the big group of annoyed people. I like the banner by the way!"

"Thanks. It's amazing what you can buy at airports these days!"

"What do you think of the body?"

Steph had lost some weight and was pretty muscular, she looked like a wrestler.

"The boys aren't gonna recognise you, they're gonna try and eat you alive!"

The pair had walked back over to the other two by now. Michelle couldn't stop smiling at Ella.

Michelle cooed. "Hey gorgeous! My how you've grown in just a few months. Come and give Auntie Meme a hug!"

Steph carefully placed Ella in Michelle's arms and she walked backwards and forwards rocking the child. Steph finally gave Shane a proper hug, before turning to Kennedy and doing the same. The group gathered everything together, collected Steph's luggage and went to the limo. In the limo Ella slept in her car seat whilst the four casually chatted.

Steph felt awkward. "You know I feel so out of place compared to you three! I felt quite smart today until I saw you!"

Steph was wearing a comfortable blouse and jeans.

Michelle laughed. "You know you look like a mum!"

"Is that a good thing?"

"Not if you're looking for a new man!" Kennedy said.

Shane looked angrily at him, until Stephanie laughed at his words.

"Well what do you want me to wear, Kenny? What would make me more attractive to you?"

The group giggled, except for Shane, who was freaking out at the thought of Kennedy and Stephanie together.

"Can we get back to the point?" Shane said.

"OK," Michelle replied. "Well Steph, we just basically have to go through the script details with you. Then we're gonna get you together with JR and Stacy to plan Raw's encounter. Basically we just wanna have a taster of your match at Wrestlemania. I still can't believe you can do all the things you say you can do!"

Steph smiled. "Well I guess you have to wait until later to see what I can actually do! You'll be so proud of me."

Kennedy shook his head. "We already are proud of you. It's gonna be so good to have you back on board the old WWE ship!

Shane sat quietly. When his sister had explained the extent of what she had planned for Wrestlemania, he had been completely shocked. He was excited at the thought of his sister being able to pull off such a match. But with Wrestlemania so close, would Steph and Stacy have enough time to get the chemistry working between them in the ring? 'I guess that we'll find out on Raw' he thought.

* * *

Well I hoped you liked it guys. I wont promise a quick update but at the latest I'll update next week. In the meantime I hope you guys could leave some feedback as to where you think the story should go...

1. What do you think the storyline between Steph and Stacyshould be like? Who do you think should be the heel/babyface? I rougly know in my head what's going to happen but I am open to influences.

2. This will (eventually) get romantic? So who should Steph find happiness with? Or does she not deserve happiness, you heartless people!

3. Don't forget about HHH and Trish! Should they stay outta of the story altogether, or do you think they should get written in?

I look forward to hearing your comments. Take care!


	4. ReMeeting the Gang

Hi Guys...well after lots of setting up the background info for you were finally getting to the beginnings of this story. My orinigal idea was to start this story at this chapter but I thought it would be too confusing. I like to explain little details so everythings ties together and makes sense. Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you like this chapter. I'd like to introduce to you a couple o potential Stephanie pairings...enjoy!

* * *

The day after arriving in Chicago was the day of Monday Night Raw. It was scheduled to be Stephanie McMahon's return and wrestling debut for the WWE. Shane was already at the arena as were most of the other wrestlers, all preparing and planning for the show. However Stephanie was running a little late. She was at her hotel in the meeting room, being told by her lawyers and investigators that they couldn't trace HHH. He was in hiding in Canada, away from her and away from her divorce papers.

Stephanie banged her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. "Look guys, this is getting beyond a joke. I told you where he is, he's at that whores house!"

"But, with all due respect Ms McMahon, we have been to Miss Stratigias' home and have found no evidence of Paul living there. Until we can confirm an address we cannot begin legal proceedings."

Stephanie sighed. She was hoping to get her divorce underway before she got back into the ring. By putting herself in the spotlight she was scared of being vulnerable to Hunter. By bringing the business back into her life would she be bringing him back into it too?

Steph got back to her room and sat down on her bed. Over the last couple of years she had changed so much. She would go out and party and be the beautiful wife to Hunter. She would dazzle the crowd with her tight little numbers and curves to spare. Now she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror. Stephanie saw the 'new' her, complete with muscles rather than unnecessary curves (during a training session Steph had taken one bump a little wrongly, which then lead her to having a breast reduction!). Steph's clothes were awful, why did she always dress like a well behaved 40-something mom?

Steph stood up and thought to herself as she looked in the mirror. 'What the hell am I wearing? Jogging bottoms and a T-shirt! Wait a minute….didn't this T-Shirt belong to Shane when he was 18? My God I need to change!'

Stephanie practically ran to her suitcase, but then held herself back from throwing her clothes everywhere…she was supposed to be leaving for the arena in 20 minutes. She thought through every single item of clothing she brought with her, until she remembered a certain dress she had picked up in case she had any special occasions. She found the dress and threw it on, then went to the bathroom. She didn't have time to do anything special with her hair, so she pulled it back into a tight plait, then put on a light layer of make-up. She didn't want to annoy the hair/make-up people when she got there. She put her jogging bottoms and a sports bra into a separate bag, then went over to Ella. She had 3 mins to spare.

Ella was good as gold. Whenever Ella and her mother were alone, Stephanie felt that they were almost one person. Ella would sleep or play with toys, Steph sometimes thought that she would one day forget Ella was there in the room with her. It was only at times like this when Ella and Steph were truly themselves…when they were in the public eye they would always play up. Steph put on her shades, grabbed her bags and Ella and left for the car park.

They arrived at the busy arena. Steph got out of the car, grabbed her gear then headed through the backstage entrance. As soon as the doors slammed shut behind her, Ella began to cry.

Steph rushed through the tight corridors trying to find a larger space to settle her stuff down. Eventually she found a lobby-like area where certain backstage rooms came together. With no tables around Stephanie dropped her bags and then sat Ella on the floor. A few people looked at her strangely before they realised who it was.

Chris Jericho had just finished an interview with the local newspaper and shut the door behind him when he was surprised to hear a baby crying. Curious to see where the noise had come from he walked a few steps around the corner to see the source.

'It can't be? Stephanie McMahon?'

Stephanie was sat on the floor in a knee length black halter neck dress and black boots bent over the small child on the floor. Stephanie was pulling funny faces and smiling at Ella whilst bouncing from side-to-side waving her fingers around, acting like a clown. It was working and Ella was quietening down. When Ella's cry almost stopped, Steph scooped her off of the floor and cradled her protectively in her arms, kissing her forehead. Chris could barely believe his eyes. This whole scene to him was so…unrealistic.

Chris walked towards her slowly, slightly tilting his head when he noticed Steph's skirt accidently hitched up over her thigh. He made his way through the whispering crowd ad held his hand out to her. She looked up and there eyes met.

"Chris Jericho!" she stated, then gave him a heart-melting smile.

"Mrs Leve…" he paused, "Miss McMahon, would you like a hand up off that dirty floor?"

Holding Ella in one arm she took Chris' hand with the other. After she stood up she used the same arm to throw around Chris' neck in a half-hug.

"I can't remember the last time I saw you." Chris said.

"Likewise. Guess I lost your new number."

They were friends…but obviously not that close friends.

"Everyone is going to be so shocked to see you. Are you writing again or are…hey, you look a lot different!" Chris had just noticed Stephanie's biceps.

"Well I've been working out."

"Oh…are you here to see Shane?"

She thought about telling him the truth, but thought it would be even more fun to surprise him. The only wrestlers that knew about her return were Stacy and the other divas. Well Stacy was supposed to be the only one to know, but Steph asked her to spread it round to the other girls. After all, she didn't want any sudden meetings with Trish Stratus.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "I guess you could say that."

He looked confused, just the way she had planned it. Then he looked at Ella, who was making gurgling noises to herself.

"Chris…this is Ella."

"She's beautiful. She looks just like her mother."

She shook her head at him. "Ohhh Chris, what would your wife say? Look I gotta go because I've only just got here. We'll catch up later."

"Cool. Good to see you back Steph."

Steph picked up her things and carried on her journey around backstage. She came to a door and looked through the window. She was on the 1st floor by the main arena. She went in and walked down the steps of the seating area, then peered over the balcony to look down onto the ring. Her breath was taken away.

"Long time no see," she said to herself.

She looked down to see the ring surrounded by people. Most of them were stage crew but a few of them were wrestlers. In the middle of the ring were Bubba Ray Dudley and some unknown wrestler setting out there match. Stood leaning on the edge of the ring were D-Von, Kane, Batista, Randy Orton and Victoria. There were a few small groups of wrestlers as well. They all looked so happy and yet so serious, it was that wrestling working environment that Steph missed the most. She looked down at what once used to be her family. Would these people accept them as one of them and not there boss?

The small groups were oblivious to the Stephanie. She stayed there for about 10 mins before, coincidentally, Stacy Keibler noticed her.

"Oh thank God she's here, I was starting to panic!"

Stacy waved crazily at Steph to get her attention, Steph gave her a half-hearted wave back. Then Steph noticed the girls who were with Stacy, who had peered up to see what all the fuss was about…a few make-up girls, Sara Callaway and Trish Stratus. Steph couldn't help herself, her eyes fixated themselves on Trish. Steph expected her blood to boil and her teeth to lock together with anger, but instead she felt nothing. She was looking down at the women who had taken her husband away from her and she felt empty. Steph, so confused within herself, turned away from Trish' glare.

Stacy turned her attention from Steph to Trish, it was at that moment that all the rumours she had heard became the truth.

Stacy smiled at the group of girls. "Hey girls, I gotta go, if you see Test, would you tell him I love him and I'll see him later."

Stacy left the group and hurried up to find Stephanie. Trish just ignored her, sat staring, deep in her thoughts.

Batista, who had also noticed Stacy's waving, looked up to see what was causing the commotion. Then he saw her, his first big crush within the business…his mentor's wife, Stephanie. He had only met her a few times and once travelled with her, but he had found her fascinating. She was older than him but he still thought she was incredibly beautiful. When he had known her, he had also known about Hunter's behaviour when she wasn't around. Memories of a conflict within him began to resurface.

'How the hell am I gonna concentrate on Wrestlemania with you here?'

* * *

Well? What did you think? I hope you liked it! Let me know your comments and what you'd like to see happen with the story...expect another update in a few days!


	5. Wrestlemania 21

Hi! This story is a tribute to Wrestlemania last night…it was so good and really enjoyable to watch. This is a warning in case you haven't seen it yet, this story acts as a spoiler for the HHH/Batista match.

Just a correction from Chapter 2, the main part of the story is taking part in 2007. Both Chapters 1 and 2 say they are set in 2006, but in Chapter 1 is right and Chapter 2 is meant to be in 2007, referring to Wrestlemania 23.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: WWE owns stuff, not me!

* * *

April 2005

Stephanie's heart was beating like crazy as she stood behind the curtain. She waited for the man she was desperately in love with patiently. She could hear all the fans chanting 'Batista' and she knew that it was all over. She was so proud of the guys but so worried for her husband.

After what felt like an eternity Flair appeared with HHH in tow, without the title. It was worse than Steph had thought, blood was oozing from Hunter's head, his body shaking from the adrenaline. They weren't many times when Steph saw him this bad.

"Paul! Paul I'm so proud of you! That was such a great match. I love you baby!"

Steph flung her arms around him. She wanted to kiss him but almost every inch of his skin was covered in blood. She looked into his eyes, their whites seemed more protruding against his red face. She saw him look at her and then his eyes seemed flutter, as if he was losing consciousness.

"Steffie…?" he mumbled.

"We better get him to hospital, he's lost a lot of blood this time." Ric said to her.

Steph watched disappointedly as Hunter was carried off to the ambulance. She would have to stay at the arena for several more hours before she could be with him. Her heart broke as her plan in her head fell apart, she reminded herself that it wasn't Hunter's fault.

In amongst the hectic crowd Steph didn't notice the Animal come up behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and she jumped with fright.

"Whoa Steph!"

She turned around to see Dave body like a brick wall in front of her. His physique reminded her so much of her husband, his body was even covered in his blood.

"Dave you scared me. Congratulations!" Steph said, not as enthusiastically as he had expected.

Dave was disappointed. He was hoping that Steph would smile and be happy, throw her arms around him so he could smell her hair…his crush was taking a grip on him.

"What's the matter Steph, Hunter's gonna be Ok isn't he?" Batista looked concerned.

"Uh yeah, you know Paul…he's the best in the business." A tear rolled down Stephanie's cheek.

Batista lifted her chin and watched the tear fall off her cheek to the floor. Steph wasn't intimidated by his touch, he was kind and gentle with her.

'Oh God! Does she know about Hunter and the Hotel Receptionist?' he thought to himself.

Batista didn't want to ignore everyone who wanted to congratulate him on his Wrestlemania victory, but Stephanie just meant so much to him. He knew barely anything about her but he valued her friendship more than any other relationship he had in the WWE.

"What's happened?" he finally asked her, straight out and blunt.

Steph smiled and wiped another tear away. "I just wanted to tell Paul…but didn't get the chance…I think I'm pregnant."

At that moment Steph let go a mix of sad and happy tears and found comfort in Batista's body. She wrapped her arms around his chest as far as they would go and sobbed. Batista barely moved. His heart was breaking, for her and him. He wanted to be with her more than anything, but she was so happy with Hunter. She was oblivious to the real Hunter, the man who bragged about his conquests in the locker room and talked of how one day he would be running the company. Dave wanted her to tell the truth, but couldn't bring himself to be the one to break her heart.

"I'm really happy for you."

Steph looked up and grinned at him. "Well I'm really happy for you Dave. The title couldn't have been dropped to anyone more deserving. You really deserve this."

Batista couldn't help thinking about her words. He looked down at her, pregnant, wrapped around his body, the title on his shoulder.

'You really deserve this Steph. You deserve a lot better than what you have. You should be with me, the baby, the title…'

His train of thought was interrupted when he felt her hands slip from around his waist. Steph wiped the tears away from her face.

"Have fun tonight Dave, I'm gonna go see if I can find Paul…I really want to tell him."

She tried to kiss him on the cheek, but with the haste and height difference missed and ended up kissing his neck. It sent tingles through Dave's body. He watched her run off down the corridor, before his attention came back to reality…and he suddenly notice the dozens of people swarming round him on congratulate him.

* * *

Aww I hope you like the Chapter, I was going to make it a small reference but decided that this flashback could stand as a chapter on its own. Thanks to the WWE for giving us Wrestlemania and inspiring me in the writing of this story!

Also thanks for all your reviews, I really love reading them and they encourage me to keep writing. Thanks!


	6. Bye Stacy, Welcome Back Steph!

Hi guys! I really hope you like this chapter, I've been thinking about how to write this one for a while! It's a bit long but I really loved writing it. There's a special bitin there for all you Jericho-Steph pairing fans. Thanks for all your reviews, I really appreciate them. Expect another update in a couple of days. Oh and don't forget to tell me where you think the story should go, which pairing is your favourite? Batista? Jericho? HHH! Or maybe even someone else?

The usual disclaimer applies.

* * *

'Is this some sort of joke? I'm a 30 year old single mother turned hooker!'

Seriously…what were the costume department thinking? Steph was wearing black lycra hotpants and black lycra sports top that looked more like a boob tube. Steph stood awkwardly in front of the mirror trying to cover her midriff with her arms.

'Thank God those silver wrestling boots didn't fit and I get to wear my own!'

Steph was almost ready for her Raw debut. Her hair and make-up had been done, it was pretty much the same as when she had arrived. Her hair was slicked back in a high plait and the only extreme make-up she had on was smoky black eye shadow. She looked very sexy, even though she hated the clothes. Steph jumped as there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Her voice was squeaky with nerves.

"It's Chris." Jericho said.

Jericho opened the door and Steph stood awkwardly waiting for his reaction. Jericho giggled, it made her smile.

"Is it that bad?" She asked.

"No, you look great! It's a little bit more revealing than I expected."

She smiled at him and walked over to give him a hug. "Well thank you."

A high-pitched scream broke up the hug, the pair turned to Ella who was in her cot, being watched over by Christy Hemme.

Christy's grin was as big as her forehead. "Awww aren't you cute ickle boo boo!"

Jericho gave Steph the 'oh my god are you crazy?' look and Steph just shrugged back.

"What can I say, she's a cheap babysitter."

From behind the door Stacy Keibler appeared. She was wearing a baby tee with 'I'm a bad bad girl' written on it and hotpants.

"Come on Steph. Fifteen minutes, let's go warm up together."

"Ok I'll be right there."

As Stacy skipped off down the corridor Stephanie began to get butterflies in her stomach. Jericho looked a little concerned. He took her arm and pulled her to him and swamped her in his biceps. Stephanie could not escape him and hugged him back.

He started whispering in her ear. "Hey, don't worry babe. It's not like it's your first time out there. The crowd are gonna go nuts when they see you, they won't give a crap whether things go right or wrong. Whatever happens, it's only a five minute spot, your family are going to be waiting right here for you. And not just Ella and Shane, but your WWE family will be here for you."

Christy couldn't help overhearing his words and butt in. "We're always here for each other, you gotta be in such a ruthless business."

Steph's nerves calmed at their words and she mentally started to psych herself up. "I'm off guys, I'll see you after."

Chris let go of her, but was shocked when Steph didn't let go of him. Instead she pulled him towards her and gently kissed him on the cheek. She looked into his eyes, their faces were an inch apart. Chris started to feel strangely, was it lust?

"Thank you." She whispered as she let go of him and exited through the doors.

Chris let out a huge sigh after she left. His heart was racing from their close encounter and he had been strangely aroused by her. He felt like he'd just left a strip club!

'It's just lust, that's all. You know you love you wife!' he reassured himself in his head.

He turned to Christy who had her head tilted to the side and was staring at him, still shocked by what she had seen between Chris and Steph.

"What!"

* * *

Raw cut back in after the adverts to JR and Jerry Lawler.

"Welcome back everyone to Monday Night Raw," JR began with. "We're going to take you back to two weeks ago on Raw when a match between Victoria and Women's Champion Stacy Keibler turned a bit nasty."

"Oh yeah I remember JR, it was like Stacy snapped all of a sudden."

They showed a flashback to Raw two weeks ago, Stacy had just used her finisher on Victoria, a spinning back head kick. Stacy went for the pin but Victoria kicked out. Stacy looked slightly frustrated, she pulled Victoria up to her feet, then kicked her in the stomach so that Victoria was doubled over, then Stacy axe kicked Victoria to the back of her head. It sent Victoria face first into the mat. Stacy smirked then casually lied down on top of Victoria for the pin…1-2-…Victoria kicked out. The crowd was going crazy for Victoria. Then all of a sudden Stacy screamed with frustration. She grabbed the referee and threw him out of the ring. Then she went outside the ring and brought a chair back in with her. Victoria gradually made her way to standing, only to be hit in the head with a chair by Stacy. Victoria was unconscious. Stacy started screaming as she slammed the chair repeatedly into Victoria's 'bad' knee, which was in a brace. Victoria was crying in pain. Eventually referees ran down and pulled Stacy back. The camera focuses on Stacy as she grins on the ramp looking back at Victoria.

"Yeah that's right Victoria," Stacy said, "You shouldn't mess with this bad girl!"

Then the Titantron flashed back to Raw a week ago…Christy is in the middle of the ring talking.

"Now last week everyone saw what Stacy Keibler did to Victoria. It made me sick! Who does that little backstage slut think she is! She may be the Woman's champion but at Wrestlemania I'm going to…"

WHAM! Stacy appeared from the crowd and hit Christy with her spinning back kick to the back of her head. Christy held her head in pain and Stacy climbed onto her and strangled her. Stacy left the ring and grabbed a chair as Christy crawled around the ring coughing. Christy was on all fours as Stacy delivered a chair shot to her back. Christy went to the floor and didn't move. As the fans started booing Stacy she gave them a 'whatever' look. She threw the chair to the side then lifted up Christy's face and started yelling at her.

"You think you're so bad, huh? Talking all that smack about me! Well guess what bitch, there's only one bad girl and only one Women's Title…so get over it babe!"

The cameras go back to Raw and Stacy is already in the middle of the ring.

'The King' speaks. "Oh baby! I love it when Stacy's out here! Look at those legs JR and ooohh, look at her shirt! She can be my bad girl any day!"

"Shhh King! Let's see if Stacy's going to explain her actions for the last couple of weeks."

Stacy stands in the centre of the ring with a microphone. "Now as you all know Wrestlemania is just around the corner. We've got Batista and Edge for the title…John Cena, Big Show and Booker T for the title…oh and don't forget Kane vs. Undertaker!"

Stacy pauses as the fans get hyped up over Wrestlemania.

"Wrestlemania is going to be a great one this year, King!" JR said.

Stacy continues. "But in the busy Wrestlemania schedule, with all these big talked about matches, I guess there's not going to be enough time for me to wrestle. And even if there was time, who would I face? I hear Victoria is having knee surgery. Oh and Christy, isn't she having a few back problems? It must be so hard for them when you're left without your best assests. I mean, how are these girls gonna earn there money when they can't get down on their knees or lie on their backs!"

The King is shocked. "Whoa! Those are some low words from the Woman's Champion."

"As for me, well, I make sure I pay lots of attention to my best assests."

Stacy starts to run her fingers down the side of her leg. The male fans start to cheer. She looks to the audience and gives them a disgusted look.

"Of course, I'm a decent girl with her own backstage locker room…I don't need a bunch of Chicago freaks drooling over me when I get ready or cool down from wrestling."

The fans start to boo and she gives out a really bad fake laugh.

"Well back to my point, I'm here tonight to ask my boss, Mr McMahon, if I could have the night off. You see for Wrestlemania I'm not going to parade around to please the fans. I'm the Woman's Champion, I have some self respect! But also, there's no-one for me to defend my title to…so I guess there's nothing else I can do. Mr McMahon, could you come out here please? At some point tonight you know, we haven't got all day."

Stacy folds her arms and taps her toes waiting for Shane. JR and King speak.

"The audacity of this young woman, King! Just because she's the Woman's Champion, she thinks she owns the place. And she would've had a fight at Wrestlemania if it wasn't for those chair shots!"

"Stacy not at Wrestlemania, that can't be good! Shane would never deprive us of those legs, who he?"

"I'm all grown up now" hits through the speaks in the arena and for a split second everyone looks confused. All of a sudden clips of Stephanie McMahon start playing on the Titantron and the fans start going wild. Stephanie walks out in a black skirt, white shirt, black suit jacket and glasses. The fans start chanting 'Steph' as she smiles and walks around at the top of the ramp. Stacy looks angrily at her. The music fades out and Stephanie goes to speak on the microphone.

Stephanie's face is beaming as she speaks. "Hi Stacy! Bet you weren't expecting to see me here, huh?"

Stacy is almost shouting at her. "Stephanie, what are you doing here? Are you here to deliver a message from Shane? Cause I was kinda hoping he wouldn't be a coward and would deliever it to my face!"

"Well, you're right Stacy. I am here to deliever a message to you. It's bad news I'm afraid. You see, at Wrestlemania you won't be getting the night off, in fact, you're going to have a match."

Stacy starts walking around the ring in a circle going crazy, then she grabs and the ring ropes and starts throwing a hissy fit. Stephanie just keeps the serious look on her face, trying not to laugh at the sight of Stacy's acting. Stacy finally starts to calm down.

"Look Steph, I took everyone out. There isn't anyone to fight at Wrestlemania. Who in the hell is my opponent going to be?"

The fans start to cheer as they predict what's going to happen. Steph pauses and smiles at her from the top of the ring. Then she slowly takes off her jacket and shirt revealing her wrestling gear. The fans, JR, the King, even the wrestlers backstage can barely believe what's happening. Triple H, sat at home watching Raw from Canada, is left gob smacked by the sight of his wife. Steph takes off her glasses and rips off her skirt, held on by Velcro and shows the crowd her hotpants…she hears a few male fans wolf whistle and tries not to blush. She keeps her serious gaze on Stacy the whole time, slowly raises the mic to her lips and says…

"Me."

Steph drops the mic and runs down to the ring and slids in. She and Stacy start trading blows. Eventually Steph's seem to have more impact as she backs Stacy to the corner. She kicks Stacy in the stomach then launches her to the other turnbuckle. Steph runs and hits Stacy with a clothesline. Stacy keeps getting up and knocked down by clotheslines. The fans are going nuts. Eventually Stacy stays down and Stephanie wonders round the ring waving her hands in the air to get the crowd behind her. She grabs Stacy's hair and picks her up. Everyone is stunned when Steph picks up Stacy, holds her vertically above her, then suplexes her. Stephanie drags her to the corner and positions, then climbs the turnbuckle.

'Oh God Steph, don't mess this one up' she thinks to herself.

She gets on the top turnbuckle, pauses for a second, then does a perfect 450 splash onto Stacy. Steph's whole body was filled with relief as she pulled the move off. The fans start to chant her name. Dave watches her from behind the curtains, his heart melting for her. He was really proud of what she had achieved, not only physically…but mentally.

Steph grabbed Stacy's old mic and bent over the unconscious Stacy. "Oh yeah Stacy, I forgot to mention something. I checked with my brother, he said that in 13 days time, at Wrestlemania, it's a chair match for the Woman's Title. You need to start getting ready Stace, because you may be bad…but I'm a McMahon!"

Steph dropped the mic and rolled out of the ring, walking backwards and watching Stacy, grinning from ear to ear. Her head was playing her music, but all she could hear were the fans chanting her name.

The commercial break cut in.


	7. Stacy and Steph

Hi everyone, things are gonna get a bit romantic in the chapter after this...but until then...here's a cute little Stacy/Steph chapter. Oh and there's a bit of Shane in there too! Awww bless! Please R+R! Thanks for reading.

WWE ownes the copyright for character/event names...not myself.

* * *

Shane was a humble, modest man. Any one as wealthy as him wouldn't travel with the wrestlers. Well actually, Shane only very rarely travelled with the other wrestlers. The WWE provided several coaches or flights for regular staff members. A lot of the wrestlers travelled together in cars, but if they were having difficulties then the coach system was a great to make sure there were no 'travel' excuses for not turning up to work. Generally Shane travelled with his closest associates Michelle and Kennedy in a private jet…or if they weren't travelling far they'd go with the lawyers/executives via coach.

It was Wednesday morning and time for the wrestlers to get back on the road. The Smackdown taping had run smoothly and they had an afternoon House Show scheduled, followed by a 'Road to Wrestlemania' Charity party. Stephanie had kept a low profile on her Tuesday off. She was tired and sore from Raw and wasn't up to spending much time around people, plus she was trying to keep a low profile, so she spent some time with Ella in a small local park. Kennedy had been with her the whole time and it was nice to catch up with him. In the evening Steph had dinner with Shane and an early night. It was now 7am and Steph was ready to catch the coach to the next arena with Stacy, a couple of other Divas, and most low-card wrestlers.

Stacy and Steph got on the coach and immediately began talking about Ella, their Raw match and Stacy's new marriage to Andrew aka Test. Ella, in her usual way, had spent the first 15 mins in the coach wailing uncontrollably, irritating a lot of wrestlers trying to catch up on their sleep. Stacy and Steph had been almost first on the coach and had waited 20 mins for the coach to leave. Just as it looked like the coach was going to pull away, Shane jumped aboard. All Shane could hear were the whispers as he made his way towards the Stacy and Steph.

Steph was shocked. "Shane, what are you doing here?"

Shane gave her a funny look. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought we were going to travel together, remember?"

Steph looked down feeling slightly guilty. She remembered how she told Shane that she wanted to be on the road with him by her side to look after her. Now in her first trip from arena to arena, she had ditched him for her newly found friendship with Stacy.

Steph finally spoke. "I'm sorry Shane, I didn't realise you were expecting me. Stacy came to me just before I went to bed last night and asked me if I wanted to join her on the coach."

Stacy was so sweet and kind and could see the miscommunication between them. Stacy was the kind of her person who would go out of way to end a conflict. "I'm so sorry Mr McMahon, Test hitched a ride to the arena and I really didn't want to be on the coach by myself. It's my entire fault."

Shane and Steph looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. They thought about a comment Shane had once said to Steph:

"You're going to love working with Stacy Keibler, she's a real push-over. It took us three days to convince her into hitting someone with a chair!"

"It's ok Stacy," Shane reassured her. "I hope you guys don't mind me joining you on the coach."

Stacy answered him really quickly. "Oh no Sir, it would be a pleasure travelling with you."

Steph laughed. One of the things she hadn't counted on when she came to the WWE was finding a close female friend. From the very first initial phone call between them and their meeting on the balcony of the arena, Steph had trusted her and enjoyed working with her. It had made her big 450 splash so much easier, knowing it was Stacy receiving it. Oh and she'd rather have cute little Stacy hitting her with a chair than say…oh…Trish Stratus?

Stacy had an awful lot of respect for Stephanie. When Shane was distracted by Eddie Guerrero (the drinker with a driving ban) playing a practical joke on Rey Mysterio (a close friend of Eddie's), Stacy seized the moment to tell Steph what she really thought of her.

"You know Steph, I really admire you."

"You do?"

"Yes, lots of the women do. I hope you're not offended by my words, but, you've been in this business for a long time…not a single person in this business holds animosity towards you. I need to tell you, I really want us to be very good friends."

Steph was so touched by Stacy's words. "I would really like that too."

Stacy felt awkward. "The thing is, I think I need to know something because all I've heard are rumours. Please can you tell me the truth between Trish, Paul and you?"

Stephanie didn't really want everyone in the business to know her business, but she wanted Stacy to know the truth and not just the speculation. So Steph recited the story of her marriage to Hunter, how he cheated on her a lot, how she had found out and then he started abusing her, how she became pregnant and the abuse had stopped and how she had left the company so that Hunter had no reasons to be with her anymore. Half way through the story, Steph couldn't help but cry. Stacy put her arm around Stephanie and hugged her tight and gave her a tissue. Shane had noticed the touching moment between the two women and decided to leave them alone, Stacy was what Steph needed right now…a Diva to confide in.

After the story Stacy finally got her chance to speak. "You see I only knew rumours before this Steph. I knew Trish was with Hunter, but I didn't know about the abuse. I feel like, I dunno, I guess I'm really proud of you. You're not letting Hunter ruin your life. And I envy you as well, I long for the day when I have a beautiful daughter. You are one of the luckiest women I have ever met, I will pray for you and Ella."

"I'm lucky to have found a friend like you Stacy. I'm lucky I have Shane, my parents, Ella. After Hunter, I think my prayers are already answered…I'm here right now and things couldn't get any better."

"Maybe…well then I will pray for Ella."

Steph felt a little awkward asking her this. "What will you pray for her?"

Stacy shook her head and smiled. "I'll pray for what every child deserves, a loving father. You know you said things couldn't get any better, but you are a beautiful woman, and you WILL find someone once again. Someone who has enough love for not only you, but Ella as well."

Steph smiled her, "I really hope so."

The pair laughed with most of the coach as they watched Rey get his revenge on Eddie as dripped bleach onto the sleeping wrestlers head.

Stacy nudged Steph. "Hey! Let me set you up on a date for the Charity party tonight?"

Steph felt a little awkward about it. But did he really wanna spend the night with Shane and his wife, or Stacy and her husband? And what if Trish brought Hunter?

"Ok, but nothing too serious, ok?"

"I promise!"


	8. Needing Stephanie part 1

Hi guys! Thank you so much for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me, I hope you guys appreciate how much of a motivation to write you are! Hmm…there seems to be a general Steph/Jericho consensus, but Jericho's married! Oh dear oh dear…what kind of girl do you think Stephanie is? Especially after her man ran off with another woman…she wouldn't do that to Chris' wife…would she? Lol. You'll have to read to find out!

Everything talked about is owned by the WWE…not me.

p.s. Oh my God! My computer crashed and I'd thought I'd lost 3 pages of story! Damn you Microsoft…but thanks for somehow saving most of my work!

* * *

"Hello, Orton speaking. Can I help you?"

"Hey hot stuff, it's me!"

"Stacy?" he said down the phone.

"Yeah. How are you?"

"I'm not bad, and yourself?"

"You know me, I'm always good. Was just wondering if you were going to the party tonight?"

"Would I ever miss a party!"

"I should've known! So…do you have a date for tonight?"

"Nope…why are you asking? Who are you trying to set me up with now Stace?"

"Uhh…Stephanie McMahon."

"Stephanie McMahon!"

"Ya ha."

Randy paused for a second. He had always thought Stephanie McMahon was hot. It would be nice for him to go out with someone a little more mature, a change from the usual skinny blonde bimbos Stacy usually set him up with.

"What's the deal Stace?"

"Well, Steph and I were talking. At the party tonight I'm gonna be there with Andrew, Shane's gonna be there with Marissa and everyone else is gonna be there with somebody. Plus, what if Trish brings Hunter? I just think she could do with another wrestler being there for her tonight. What do you say?"

Randy loved the thought of having his way with the sister of his boss. It was so naughty, his kind of thing. Plus it would be a nice change from the usual girls he bedded. But then Stacy's words hit him and he thought of someone…'another wrestler being there for her'. Now that Randy thought of him, he could never be with Stephanie and hurt one of his closest friends.

"The thing is Stace, my Dad is coming tonight and I really think I'll be spending time catching up with him. Plus, Steph's not really my type of girl…you know I prefer skinny blondes!"

"Yeah…I guess."

"But don't worry Stacy, I know exactly the right person for Steph. They know each other already and he's a good man, he'll take care of her."

"Who?"

"Look, leave it with me. I'll meet you and Stephanie eightish at the party, then I'll introduce the two. It'll be a surprise."

"Well…ok. But he better be good enough for Steph."

"Trust me…he is. I gotta go…see you later babe."

"Alright…see you later babe!"

* * *

Steph turned her curling tongs off and then touched up her make her in her hotel room. She looked stunning. She was wearing a knee length halter neck black dress that showed off her cleavage, black high heels and her hair was down, flowing in curls over her shoulders. Steph's ego rocket as she stood in front of the mirror turning and staring at herself. Her dress was backless, Steph notice a nasty bruise on the base of her spine. She knew she had gotten it from Stacy at the house show, but it reminded her so much of Hunter's abuse. She felt tears forming in her eyes, then shook them away.

"Well…almost perfect. Damn you Stacy!" she joked to herself to lift her mood.

At 7.00 Kennedy knocked on her door. He agreed to escort her to the Charity party as her security guard and then keep a distant eye on her the rest of the night. In the limo they talked.

"So who's this date you have tonight then?"

"I dunno. Stacy Keibler's setting me up with him."

"Oh." Kennedy hadn't realised that in such a short time Steph had made so many wrestler friends. "Guess I'll have to warn Shane…and your mother and father."

"I already have. Shane…well…he was quite shocked. I think he's too worried about me, he thinks that guys are only going to be interested in me because of my relationship with him. I told my Mom on the phone…she seemed really happy for me that I was trying to move on."

"And Vince?"

Steph looked away from him, not sure how to put her thoughts into words. "Dad and I don't talk an awful lot recently…since me leaving the WWE the first time round. He was very disappointed in me at the time, then when Hunter turned his back on me…and Dad…Dad was even more upset. Things are still very awkward between us."

There was an awkward silence.

"Steffie, don't you think you should tell your Dad the truth about Paul and yourself."

Steph got that mental picture that occasionally haunted her. Her Dad's face purple with anger, pacing around the room breaking furniture, before turning to Paul, pinning him down and breaking his face.

"Vince must never know the truth."

They arrived at the party. Kennedy got out of the limo first and then helped Stephanie out. Steph stepped out to face camera flashing all around her. She smiled at them and span around in a circle so that everyone got to see how beautiful she looked, before she entered the building. Not many other wrestlers had arrived, mostly the Stamford Corporation team, so many old memories resurfaced. She walked down a flight of stairs towards the main hall, where she caught the eyes of her brother. He immediately excused himself from the group he was talking to to join her.

"You look amazing."

Steph gave her brother a big hug. "Thank you Chubby! Are Mom and Dad here yet?"

"No not yet, what do you think of this place?"

"It looks amazing, you did a great job."

As Steph talked to her brother, she noticed his eyes kept darting from one group to another, sweat was gathering on his forehead. Steph reached into his pocket, much to his surprise and dabbed his head for him.

"Relax Big Bro, everything's going to be fine. And even if things go wrong, Dad will be here to clean up your mess."

Steph laughed as Shane didn't take things so lightly.

"You're such a bitch!"

She laughed even more as he frowned at her, then she gave him a big kiss on his forehead.

"Look I gotta go, I'll see you later."

Steph didn't get the chance to goodbye, or tell him about the great big lipstick marks on his forehead, as he went off to meet and greet a big TV executive. Steph looked around the room 360 degrees. She saw Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guererro, looked like Rey was trying to grab the bottle out of Eddie's hand, but Rey couldn't jump high enough as Eddie laughed holding it above his head. Poor Rey! Then she briefly saw Trish Stratus sat by herself drinking a cocktail at the bar, she didn't look that way for long. Then she noticed Shane and a TV Executive staring at her as Shane wiped his forehead with a tissue. Steph grinned and waved over at them. The next person she saw was Chris Jericho, sat in the corner of the room. Steph decided on skipping the bar and Trish Stratus and instead went over and sat by Chris.

"Hey you." He said to her.

"Hey you. What's the matter, why are you so down?"

"It's nothing…" he paused as he looked up at her big concerned eyes glaring at him. "You look beautiful."

"Well, a lot of people keep reminding me. But thank you all the same. Please tell me what's wrong?"

Jericho looked down as he scratched away at the label to his beer bottle. He took a swig then placed it down and sat back into his seat. "It's Jessica. She was supposed to be here with me tonight, but she's not coming."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's ok it's not your fault. It's a mutual thing. We just haven't been that close recently. We're just drifting more and more apart. Most of my time has been spent travelling to see her between shows, but it's not helping. She doesn't want to be on the road with me. I don't really want to be travelling to see her between shows. I still love her…but…"

He paused and shook his head, not believing the words coming out of his mouth.

"I'm not sure if I'm in love with her anymore."

Stephanie didn't know what to say to him. She had always had a bit of a crush on Chris. He was gorgeous, charming and funny but he was also nice and trustworthy. She had met Jessica once a long time ago, she had been very jealous of the pretty blonde girl and had therefore avoided meeting her ever again. Steph looked over to the bar as she noticed her throat drying out, Trish had disappeared.

"I'm just going over to the bar. Would you like another beer?"

He shook his head, not looking up at her. She stood up and stroked his arm, trying to comfort him.

"I'll be back soon. Just stay right here."

Steph made her away across the room. Half way to the bar she heard her name being said, it was muffled in the midst of chatting crowds. She turned around to see Batista making his way through groups of people. He was in a tuxedo, he looked very hot. Steph bit her lip as he made his way over to her.

"Hey Dave. You're looking pretty smart tonight."

He took her hand and kissed it, looking into her eyes the whole time.

"You looking rather good yourself, Miss McMahon."

Steph thought for a while. "You know, I can't really remember the last time we talked. Was it…"

"It was when Hunter invited me and some others around for poker, after you'd left the WWE. Do you remember?"

She thought back to a time when Paul was beating her, but this was a half-happy memory. "I remember I was doing the dishes and you came over and dried up for me. The guys were taking the piss out of you and I…I was grateful."

He was blissfully unaware that that night she was wearing a dressing gown and pyjama pants to cover her bruises and that after the guys had left she had received another beating, for flirting with Dave.

"Are you here alone tonight?"

"Kind of. I'm waiting for my blind date."

Dave heart nearly skipped a beat with excitement. "You know, I'm actually waiting for a blind date too! Randy Orton arranged it for me."

"You know Stacy is setting me up. Randy and Stacy…you don't think…"

"Surprise you two!" Randy half-shouted as he patted his friend on the back.

Dave's eyes widened and he gulped. How could Randy do this to him? It was the nicest yet nastiest surprise of his life. He was finding himself on a blind date…with the love of his life.

TBC

* * *

Hope you guys like it. Now I'm trying my hardest to write this story using U.S. vocab and terminology. I'm actually from the U.K. so it is in fact quite difficult. Do you guys say the phrase...'taking the piss'...in America? I wasn't sure but couldn't think of a better way of saying it. I think you must get the general idea.

I hope you liked this chapter. I'm really enjoying writing it! I'm about to start another story, so that I can share my love and if I get a writer's block with one story I can write for the other. I hope you read, I'm going to post the 1st chapter later.

Until then, happy writing! x


	9. Needing Stephanie part 2

I couldn't wait to carry on writing this story! So here you guys. You know the usual disclaimer.

* * *

It had been about half an hour and Steph had been tied down by Batista's general chit-chat…the usual stuff that was starting to bore her. She was feeling incredibly guilty, her words to Jericho echoing in her head…

'I'll be right back.'

"Hey Dave, I'm just going to the ladies' room. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Sure," he replied. He watched her disappear through the crowds, eagerly awaiting her return.

As she walked through the groups, someone elbowed her in the side. She was completely off guard and went flying several feet, landing on the floor. Unfortunately she also landed in a puddle of red wine that someone had dropped on the floor. In a daze, Stephanie looked up and saw Trish Stratus looking down at her.

'Did she push me?'

As Trish backed away from the scene, she saw a hand pass in front of her. She looked to see who was to help her up, it was her father. She took his hand and he lifted her up back onto her feet.

"Gosh Steph, fancy seeing you down there?"

"Hey Dad, it's nice to see you. I would hug you, but I wouldn't want to ruin your suit with my dirty dress."

He grinned at her and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Then I guess that will have to do for now. Now be a good girl and go clean yourself up."

Stephanie blushed at her father as she quickly made her way to the bathroom. She was just about shut the door when Stacy came in, seeing the whole thing, and offered to help sort herself out. As Stacy go to work with paper towels on Steph's dress and Steph desperately fixed her hair, a cubicle door opened and Trish appeared. Trish was looking down avoiding eye contact with her, but Trish could feel Steph's eyes burning her. The McMahon temper in Steph finally came to boiling point.

"Can you not even look at me?" Steph growled.

After a slight pause, Trish's eyes looked up from the sink to the mirror, where she looked into the reflected eyes of Stephanie.

"Trish, I doubt that we will ever be friends…in fact, I think I will always dislike you. But we can't carry on avoiding each other like this!"

"What do you expect from me, Ms McMahon?"

"For a start it would be nice if you could have the balls to look me in the eyes now and then! Are you too cowardly to do that? You have to resort to bitching about me but never to my face, push me down to the floor to get your personal kicks?"

Stacy, feeling awkward, tried to interrupt the explosive Stephanie…but Stephanie didn't even acknowledge her.

"YOU TOOK MY HUSBAND FROM ME!"

Trish shook her head at Stephanie. "You know, I hope you feel better now. It's been a long time since Paul left you, I can see that it's still hurting you. I'm doing my best to make it easier for you. I never bitch about you Steph and I didn't push you just now. But if you want to use those as reasons to yell at me instead of that third reason you just said, the one and only truth, then that's your problem…not mine!"

Trish turned her back and stormed out of the ladies' room, leaving Stephanie breathing heavily from the anger.

Stacy's voice was kind of squeaky, she didn't want to upset Stephanie anymore. "You know, I was trying to tell you. Eddie fell into you and knocked you down. He was quite drunk, Rey is taking him home. It wasn't Trish's fault."

Steph was left speechless. She felt so guilty that she made such a stupid mistake because of her feelings. She calmed herself and she made herself look good as new. Eventually she left the ladies' room, Batista was waiting for her outside.

"What took you so long?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, why are you waiting out here for me? Don't you have anything better to do? You stalker!"

The pair laughed as they joined the rest of the party.

* * *

It was ten o'clock and the wrestler's had organised themselves into tables sat around the main hall, with a dance floor space. Stephanie had been having a wonderful night with Batista, although she hadn't been enjoying it as much as she hoped. Batista was funny, interesting, caring…but he wasn't Jericho. He was all Stephanie could think about. She just kept telling herself that it wasn't some sort of crush, that it was a deep friendship…and a concern over his recent heartache with his wife.

As Batista talked Steph looked over to Jericho's table. She could see him alone on the table, he looked fairly drunk. He was on the phone and she could hear his voice getting louder and louder, although she couldn't work out what he was saying.

"So Randy and I were in this club and Randy's with this girl but this guy comes over to me and says…"

"Look Dave, I'm having a really great evening. But I'm really worried about my friend over there," she pointed to Jericho. "He's pretty down and has spent most of the night alone. Do you mind if I go and check on him?"

At that instant feelings of jealousy arose in Dave. He couldn't say no to her, but he didn't want her to leave. He wanted to keep her near him, where she would be safe. But she was such a kind person, he knew she had to do what she had to do. He wished that he could just pluck up the courage and say to her…

'Stephanie McMahon I love you! You're the most amazing and beautiful woman I have ever let my eyes on. I know you are vulnerable at this time and you need someone to look after you. Well I want to look after you Steph. I need you Steph…just like you need me!'

Batista looked down at the table and sighed. "Of course Steph, you should go and check on him…it looks like he needs someone like you right now."

She took his chin in her hand and lifted his face so his eyes met hers. He couldn't help but smile as she smiled at him. She brought her face closer to his, his eyes closed…hoping to feel her lips on his. He was disappointed when he felt her lips softly touch his cheek. Her lips then moved next to his ear as she whispered to him.

"Thank you Dave, you really are a good man."

She got up at the table and left him, to be with Chris.

* * *

Chris watched as Stephanie walked across the dance floor towards her. His heart began to beat faster. He barely realised he was doing it, but he got up out of his seat and began walking towards her. His body couldn't wait to be near hers. He felt kind of stupid when they finally came together on the dance floor…why couldn't he have just sat and waited?

"I'm sorry I went away for so long…do you want to dance?" she asked him.

"I would really like that."

Chris let Stephanie make the first moves. Stephanie's arms wrapped around Chris' neck and Chris put his arms around her waist.

He tried to lighten the atmosphere between them. "You know, last time I ever had to put my arms around your waist I couldn't get my hands to join together!"

She sarcastically laughed at him. "Ha ha ha! Give me break, I was never that big!"

The pair swayed from side to side gently to the classical music being played. The tables were lit by candle light and the hall was surrounded by beautiful pink, blue and yellow roses. Stephanie found herself being absorbed by Chris and their surroundings. Chris, on the other hand, couldn't stop noticing all the people staring at them…Shane, Vince, Kennedy…Dave.

"Do you mind me asking Steph, is there something go on with you and Dave Batista."

Her head came off of his shoulder so she could look him in the eye.

"Well…we're actually on a blind date together tonight."

"Oh…because if looks could kill I'd be dead on this spot."

Stephanie, slightly confused, looked over to Dave. She noticed he was staring at them, but he had turned away as soon as he saw her looking.

"I wonder what his problem is?" Stephanie asked. "He seemed fine when I said I was coming to check on you."

"He has a crush on you."

Stephanie's body stopped moving and she looked Chris in the eyes again. "How do you know that?"

"Because I see the way he looks at you. It's how Paul used to look at you. It's how most of the single men in here are looking at you. It's the same way that I am looking at you right now."

Stephanie gulped and blushed at his intensity. Not knowing what to say she pulled him closer to her and rested her head on his shoulder again. Content in the moment, the pair swayed to the music for what seemed like an eternity. Stephanie eyes opened and she awakened from her trance as she heard her brother's voice.

He was stood on a platform with a microphone. He was really excited. Marissa was stood next to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for attending tonight. Tonight has been a great success and so far we have raised over $30,000 for various local charities…I think all of you out there deserve a round of applause."

Dave was quite happy that Stephanie had to finally let go of Chris so that she could clap her hands together.

"Wrestlemania XX111 is a little over a week away and I'm sure all of you wrestling are starting to get butterflies and goose bumps. Wrestlemania…the grand stage of them all, it's everyone's big chance to shine. And when I say everyone I mean everyone, all of you in this room tonight…whether you are a wrestler, a lawyer, a TV producer, the coffee girl…we all contribute to create this spectacular show. This year will be my first Wrestlemania where I have to take responsibility for all of you, but I'm not worried at all, because I know that all of you will never let me down.

The WWE is a finely tuned company that has been passed on from generation to generation. It was first started my grandfather, taken over by my father…now the torch has been passed to me. I look to Stephanie and I know that she will agree with me that it is a privilege and an honour to be a McMahon. As I look into the past of the WWE, I now want to turn to the future of the company. Wrestle mania always means a fresh start and a new beginning. Well, it will be a new beginning for me, as my wife has just told me. Not only am I to be a son and a brother in a traditional family…but I am to be a father as well."

Gasps filled the hall, soon followed by cheering and clapping. Marissa turned to Shane and threw her arms around him in happiness, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. Vince and Linda started to make their way up to the stage to congratulate their son. As for Stephanie, she just stood shocked. Her head was to the floor and she was deep in thought.

Chris turned to her. "Steph, are you OK?"

She looked up to him. "Yeah I'm fine…I've just realised something I should be doing."

Steph ran up to the stage and threw her arms around her brothers neck and gave him a kiss, to the shock of the rest of her family.

"Whoa Steph, slow down! What are you doing?" Shane squirmed.

"I'm so happy for you guys, but I'm so sorry, I have to go!"

"But…where? The night is still young?" Shane's pretty wife said.

"I'm going to the place where I'm supposed to be…I'm going to go be with my baby girl!"

Kennedy overheard her. "Steffie, I'll go get the limo for you. Are you sure you're ready to go?"

"Yes. The sooner then better." Steph turned to Shane. "I really miss Ella. I want to be with her."

"What about you're date?" Shane asked.

Steph looked to Dave who was looking pretty miserable sat at the table by himself. Remembering Chris' words she slowly made her way off the stage and towards his table.

"Hi Dave," she felt so bad leaving him, she couldn't look him in the eye. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you but I have to go."

Dave stood up, he was towering over her. For a moment she was almost frightened by his presence.

"Hey Steph, it's ok. Do you want me to take you home?" his voice was so soft and gentle, absolutely nothing like his appearance.

"No it's fine. Kennedy is going to take me. I just, I need to be with my daughter."

He smiled at her. "I understand."

He took her hand and led her to the door, partly because he was a gentleman, partly because he didn't want her to get the chance to say bye to Jericho. He was just about to ask her for a date when…

"I had a really good time tonight Dave, you are such a good friend. Maybe we could hang out some more backstage…maybe after Wrestlemania?"

Dave sighed. "I'd like that."

As the limo pulled up and the door opened for her she rushed her goodbyes with him. She stood on her toes and went to peck him on the cheek, but she felt his arms wrap around her to keep her balanced on her toes, his head turning so that her lips ended up on his.

The kiss was forced and Steph was shocked, but not disgusted. She loved having his arms wrapped around her…it reminded her of how Paul used to hold her. When she realised how wrong the kiss was, that it was making her think of her ex husband, she pulled away from him and he let go off her. She blushed, turned away from him and got into the limo as fast as she could. The door shut and Batista watched as Steph was driven away.

Dave couldn't stop thinking…Did I scare her away? Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?

* * *

I hope you liked it guys! I'm moving back to Uni on Saturday and have lots of work to do...so I'm not sure when I'll be able to next update ,-( apologises now...i will update a.s.a.p.

take care! x


	10. Would you like to go to dinner?

Hi guys! I'm so sorry that it's been a week since I last updated:-( I had to move back to Uni and things are a bit hectic at the moment, since it's exam time! I'm updating this story asap and writing whenever I have time! I hope you like this chapter, took me three days to write!

* * *

Monday came quickly and Shane and Stephanie walked into the arena side-by-side early in the morning, Steph carrying the nappies, ring gear and other goodies in her large bag and Shane carrying his beloved niece. Steph had confided in Shane the truth about her date with Dave…and their kiss. She confided in him that she was attracted to Dave and that he would be a good boyfriend and father to Ella, but there was someone else that was always in her mind.

"I'm kind of disappointed in you Steph, after what happened to you with your marriage, why would you have your eyes set on a married man?"

Steph stared at the floor as she walked. Eventually she mumbled under her breath, "You can't help how you feel."

Dave had a nervous feeling in his stomach when he arrived at the arena early afternoon. He had spent the whole weekend thinking about Stephanie and how stupid he had been kissing her.

'Too much too soon,' was all he could think.

Dave dumped his stuff in the locker room before going on a hunt for Steph. He went to her locker room, the main arena and Stacy's locker room before finally finding her in the cafeteria. He thought she looked so beautiful, her hair was curly and round her shoulders like it was at the party. She was wearing a floral print top and jeans, she looked very feminine. As he started to walk over to her, Randy walked by and stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.

"You might wanna reconsider going in there buddy!"

Dave stopped and looked around. He suddenly noticed the serious look on Steph's face, the way everyone was suddenly leaving the cafeteria and the shouting of a female voice. A young blonde woman with a bright red face was screaming at Chris Jericho, she was surrounded in broken crockery and tears were rolling down her face. Chris was trying to comfort her, but at the same time you could see the embarrassment and anger in his face. Dave looked back at Steph who was sat quite near the commotion, Steph was wrapping Ella in a blanket. She got up and struggled to walk as she carried Ella in one arm and her bags in the other. When she looked up her eyes met Dave's, she was glad to see him.

"Do you need a hand?"

"Yes please," she replied. "Do me a favour and get me and my baby away from all this screaming and smashing!"

Neither of them noticed Jericho look over and jealousy watch the three of them disappear out of the door.

* * *

Dave sat in Steph's locker room and the pair caught up, both pretending that nothing had happened between them at the party. Ella started to make a fuss so Steph picked her up and rocked her in her arms to calm her.

Dave wanted to be a part of this loving relationship. "Is it OK if I hold her?"

"Sure."

Steph passed Ella across to Dave. Steph tried not to giggle as Dave awkwardly held her. She leant over to him and rearranged his arms so that Ella was positioned carefully and comfortably in them. Dave felt his heart beat faster as Steph's hands stroked his arms before she let go and sat back down again.

"She's so small and you're so…big. You make quite a pair." Steph said smiling.

Dave didn't reply. He just looked down and admired the beautiful girl in his arms. He noticed her brown eyes and curly brown hair, just like Stephanie's. He decided that this was the right moment.

"Stephanie, I just wanted to apologise to you, I shouldn't have done what I did." The whole time he spoke he couldn't bring himself to look up into her eyes. "I hope that I didn't upset you in any way, but I really couldn't help myself. I think you're a beautiful woman Stephanie and it's inspiring to be around you. You're so talented as a mother and wrestler and so strong-willed. I know me telling you this is embarrassing you and making you feel uncomfortable, but I know that you probably don't hear these words half as much as you deserve to."

Steph felt her face becoming redder as he spoke. She looked down at his body, his arms were covered in goose bumps and he was slightly shaking. Dave was proud that he managed to say his rehearsed speech as well as he had hoped. He finally was able to look up into her eyes. Even though she felt awkward, Stephanie couldn't look away from him, so she matched his stare.

"I don't know how you feel about me but I really like you Steph. I'm gonna leave you my number but I don't expect any call. If you'd like to go out for dinner sometime, maybe after Wrestlemania, well, I would really like that…" Dave bit his lip as he struggled to get the words out of his mouth. He took a couple of deep breathes and was about to start speaking again when there was a knock at the door.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and smiled at him. She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' before inviting the person in. Christy Hemme came bouncing through the door with a great big grin on her face. She immediately went over to Dave and took Ella out of his arms.

"Hey Steph, it's babysitting time! Oh, I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting something."

"No it's fine, I was just leaving." Dave spoke before Stephanie had the chance, relieved that the interruption has stopped his stuttering.

"Yeah, I've got get ready for tonight as well."

Steph and Dave both got up together. Dave shuffled past Stephanie and a coffee table and made his way to the door. He left in a hurry completely embarrassed. He took a few steps down the corridor when Steph came out of the dressing room.

"Dave!"

He turned to face her with some hope in his heart. "Yes?"

"You forgot to give me your number!"

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it to her. She smiled at him before heading back to her room. Dave walked back to the men's locker room, filled with confidence.

* * *

"Hello everyone and welcome back to Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross here with Jerry 'The King' Lawler. We're just getting ready for a women's match here. It's gonna be Jewel versus Stephanie McMahon."

Jewel was already in the ring waiting for Stephanie. Steph's music started playing and the fans started cheering like crazy. Steph waved at them and blew them all a kiss, she could hear them chanting her name. She span around and noticed a new entrance video, a mix of video of her in photo shoot in a bikini and footage of her last week, mostly the 450 splash at different angles. It made her think of Paul London and what he had said to her.

'Whoa dude! You're nearly as good as me!'

She walked down the ramp in black trousers and a black sports top (after much complaining, Steph wouldn't be wearing hot pants ever again!). The camera zoomed in on some signs in the arena…'Welcome Back Steph!', 'Brains…Beauty…the whole 450' and 'Marry me Steph!'. She got into the ring and stared down Jewel. Jewel was currently in a 'Stacy-wannabe/jobber' role in the company, but backstage she was shy, sweet and very polite. She was star struck by Stephanie and eager to impress Shane, she was hardly ever used on Raw.

They started with some nose-to-nose talking at each other, then Jewel slapped Steph. Steph picked herself up and looked directly into the camera showing the anger on her face. She then chick-kicked Jewel to the floor. Jewel led there as if knocked out. Steph dragged her to the corner and climbed the turnbuckle. The fans were chanting her name as Steph jumped off and hit Jewel with the 450 splash. Steph went for the cover.

1…..2…..Stacy Keibler's music started playing and Steph broke the pin.

Steph stood in the ring glaring at Stacy as she appeared at the top of the ramp in her cat suit and carrying a chair. Steph made a 'just bring it' gesture with her hands, but to Stacy just unfolded the chair and sat down on the ramp to watch the match. Jewel staggered to a crawling position and went behind Steph. Jewel grabbed her legs and pulled her backwards into a roll-up pin.

1…2…Steph kicks out.

The pair staggered to their feet and start exchanging blows. Jewel starts to get the better of Steph, she launches her onto the ropes and hit's Steph with a clothes line. Steph gets up and then Jewel DDTs her. Jewel grabs Steph's arm in an arm bar submission hold. As Steph screams in pain, Stacy smirks and claps for Jewel. Steph manages to grab hold of a rope and the ref breaks the hold. Jewel climbs on top of Steph and starts to strangle her. The pair rolled around the middle of the ring in a cat fight, they run into the referee, knock him down and roll over the top of him. Finally Steph manages to get on top of Jewel and gives her a hard slap. Steph stands up as Jewel rolls around on the floor. Steph runs to the ring ropes and uses them to launch her into a leg drop on the back of Jewel's head. Steph picks up Jewel and lifts her up and pauses to show her strength before she suplexes her. Steph stood and waved her hands to the crowd, shouting "Do you want more?"

Steph does a handspring across the ring into a backwards somersault onto Jewel. The fans go nuts as Steph goes for the pin.

1…2…3! The bell rings and Steph stands up to celebrate!

Stacy came into the ring from behind and hit Steph in the back with the chair. Steph screamed in pain as she collapsed and rolled around on the floor. The crowd could see her back going bright red. Stacy laughed as she placed the chair on the ring floor. Stacy lifted her leg vertically then dropped it onto Steph's head. Steph led in the ring motionless. Stacy picked up Steph and Steph was barely able to stand. As JR pleaded down his headset in the commentary, Stacy held Steph in a DDT position then dropped her head onto the chair. Steph led on her back in the middle of the ring. Stacy laughed as she made her wait out of the arena.

"Oh my God! That Jezebel! Will Steph be able to compete at Wrestlemania this Sunday?" JR said.

As the TV went into commercials, Steph was stretchered out to the back of the arena. When the coast was clear Steph gradually stood up to survey the damage that Stacy had caused. Her head felt fine but her back stung from the chair shot, it was turning a reddish purple colour.

Stacy appeared quickly to check on her friend. "Oh my God Steph! I'm so sorry! Are you OK?"

Steph smiled at her. "Don't worry I'm fine. It's part of our job, remember?"

Shane was passing by in his usual rush, he smiled at his sister and stopped briefly to say "Good work!" to them both. Stacy walked with Steph to find a medic to check on Steph's spine. They went into a medical room, Chris Jericho was sat there with his leg in the air.

Stacy, unaware of what had happened earlier in the canteen was first to ask him what had happened.

"That's a nasty cut on your leg," she said. "How'd you get that?"

Chris was in a terrible mood, even with Steph in the room with him. "My wife threw some crockery around the canteen earlier and I cut my leg on some of it as I was tidying her mess."

"Oh," Stacy felt her usual guilty feeling that she got when she made an innocent conversation faux-pas.

Steph wanted to know what was happening between Chris and Jessica and couldn't resist asking. "Where's Jessica?"

"She's gone back to our home, she was only here to drop off most of my things."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

The three stayed quiet as they waited for someone to come and help them. A couple of people finally showed up, one cleaned up Jericho's leg, the other found some cream and rubbed it on Stephanie's back to ease the pain. Stacy excused herself and the pair left the medical room together.

"I meant it Chris, I'm really sorry to hear about you and Jessica. Is there anything I can do?"

Chris loved his wife so much, but at this moment he felt that he would finally be able to have his dreams come true. He had always been attracted to Stephanie and had even considered at one point leaving Jessica to be with her. The only thing holding him back was the fact that he didn't know her true feelings for him.

"Well, I'm not going home this week after the house show, do you fancy spending some time together. Maybe we could go for dinner one night?"

Steph was slightly surprised. She was really hoping he'd ask her out, but didn't think it would be this soon! Or did he just want to be friends?

"I would really like that."

Chris took out a piece of paper and pen from his bag and scribbled down his number.

"Here you go, give me a call sometime this week. It would be nice if we could hang out, you and me…"

"…and Ella!" Steph added.

He smiled at her. "Of course."

Steph gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading back to her locker room to see her baby girl, carrying with her her new phone number collection.

* * *

Please read and review! Thankyou! 


	11. Phonecalls

Hi guys! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates but for the next few weeks I have University exams/essays I have to deal with so updates are going to be irregular updates. But to make it up to you there is a surprise appearance in this chapter! The usual disclaimer applies, nothing belongs to me.

**warning! **Chapter contains strong language.

* * *

It was Friday and Steph had the rest of the week off. On Thursday night Steph spent the night with Shane and Marissa, with Steph giving her advice about pregnancy and the dos and don'ts. Steph stayed the night at Shane's, then spent the morning with her daughter in their large garden. Ella was growing rapidly. She was just over a year old and Steph and Marissa had been trying to teach her how to work. The two women could have sat and watched Ella all day, she was so entertaining. Ella was fascinated by Marissa's two dogs and often crawled after them. Steph could sit and talk to Marissa and knew that Ella would always be ineye's view.

"So, what plans do you have for tonight?" Marissa asked her.

Steph paused. Marissa wasn't aware that Shane had planned a romantic night in with her with a few romantic gestures to take Marissa's mind off of pregnancy. Shane had had a quiet word with sister along the lines of 'I'm sorry but you can't stay here tonight.'

"I guess I'll check myself into the hotel for the evening, spend the night reading a…"

"You can't do that!" Marissa interrupted her. "It's a Friday night!"

Steph laughed. Then she remembered something. She went inside the house and brought her bag back into the garden. Marissa watched her as she searched her bag and pulled out the two phone numbers scribbled on two bits of paper.

"What are they?"

"A couple of guys that both want to take me out to dinner!"

Marissa gasped. "Wow, you're so lucky! Who's the lucky guy…I mean guys?"

"Dave Batista and Chris Jericho."

"Oh…the guy from the charity party? Hang on, I thought Chris Jericho was married?"

"He is…at the moment."

Marissa got up to chase Ella who was crawling down to the far end of the garden where there was a pond. Steph just sat there and stared at the pieces of paper, thinking things through. In her first week back with the WWE, after running into Jericho, he had been all she could think about. There had always been a connection between them, but both had always been seeing other people and never had the chance to get together.

'If I have to choose between them…I choose…Chris!' she thought to herself. 'But when Batista kissed me at the party…'

"So, which one are you gonna pick?"

Steph jumped and looked up to see Marissa standing over her with Ella in her arms. Steph looked down at the pieces of paper again, then something dawned on her. Both pieces of paper were about the same size and both were white, the numbers sprawled across them in a hurry and neither of them had a name on them…she couldn't tell which number was which!

"Uhh…so whose number is whose?" Marissa asked, at about the same time Steph realised she couldn't tell them apart.

"I have no idea."

Marissa stared at her, before laughing. Steph smiled at her laughing at the ridiculous situation she was in.

"Well there's one way we'll find out!" Steph said as she took out her mobile phone from her bag.

She looked down at the pieces of paper and randomly picked one up. She dialled the number holding her breathe, hoping that the person would be Chris Jericho.

It rang a couple of times before the male voice answered. "Hello can I help you?"

"Hello, it's Stephanie." She said awkwardly.

"Stephanie? Wow! I can't believe you called me! I'm a little surprised!"

She was listening to his voice carefully but couldn't work out who she was talking to, Dave or Chris.

"Where are you? I can't hear you very well."

"I'm in a limo on my way to Madison Square Garden and there isn't a good reception, I'm sorry."

Steph clenched her fists in frustration. Both of the guys were in Wrestlemania matches: "Rehearsing for Wrestlemania?"

"Yeah."

There was silence. Steph had hoped he would mention his opponent, but he hadn't.

"Uhh…I'm going to be flying out to New York today, I'm at Shane's at the moment. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up tonight at all?"

Jericho was in complete shock. He should be saving his energy for Wrestlemania, or for fighting with his wife, but he couldn't help himself when it came to Stephanie. She had a power over him that he couldn't come to terms with.

"I would really like that Steph. What about Ella?"

"My Mom and Dad are taking her over Wrestlemania weekend and Raw. Means I'll be stuck at the hotel by myself until Sunday."

"Well I'd love to keep you company. What time will you be at the hotel for?"

All the wrestlers were staying in the same hotel over the weekend so that they would be easily found if they were needed and had easy access to MSG. "I'll be there about six o'clock."

"Ok. Well shall I meet you in the lobby at seven thirty and I'll take you to dinner?"

"That would be great."

"I gotta go Steph, I'm nearly at the arena."

"Alright, I'll see you tonight."

"Bye."

Marissa stood there waiting. "So, who's the lucky man?"

Steph chuckled in disbelief. "You're not going to believe this but I have absolutely no idea! The phone reception was quite bad, I could barely hear his voice!"

Marissa shook her head at Steph and walked back indoors with Ella. "For God's sake Steph, why does your life always have to be such a drama!"

Steph sat in the garden thinking hard. She thought through every word that she had heard on the phone and tried to imagine both the guys saying them, seeing if one person was more likely to say them. She sat for about five minutes, before her phone began to ring. She looked down to see an unknown number calling her. The number was with held, but Steph answered, her heart beat increasing.

"Hello, Stephanie speaking." She decided she would introduce herself on the phone from now on after her last phone call.

"Hi Steph it's me."

The voice was a male voice and Steph couldn't quite work out who it was. Maybe it was her phone that was the problem, not Chris'.

"Who is this?"

"Steffie baby, I can't believe you don't recognise my voice anymore!"

Steph paused and felt nauseous. "Paul?"

"Yeah baby it's me. You remember who I am?"

His voice was deep and sarcastic, reminding her of the tone of his voice that would occur before he beat her. "How did you get this number?"

"Well, I am your husband still. Don't you think I should be allowed to have your number?"

Steph took a deep breath to try and calm and compose herself, but inside she just wanted to collapse. She wished that Shane was here to take the phone away from her, but he was at the WWE offices finalising Wrestlemania plans. She took another deep breath to hold back the tears, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry.

"Are you still there sweetie?" he asked.

"What did you want Paul?"

"Just wanted to check on you, see how things are. I saw you on TV a couple of weeks ago, God you looked sexy."

"Where are you Paul?"

"I mean I've never seen you in hot pants before Steffie, your ass looked amazing. Can see you've lost a bit of weight, maybe if you'd have lost some sooner we'd still be together!"

"Where are you living at the moment?"

"My questions first!" He shouted at her. "Why are you all of a sudden back on TV Steffie? I thought you didn't want anything to do with wrestling anymore?"

"I changed my mind. Where are you?"

"Where the fuck do you think I am Steph! I'm at my new home with my new girl! So where are you Steph? I bet a thousand dollars you're at your brother's house, whining and bitching because I haven't signed your stupid divorce papers yet!"

Steph had wandered back into the house to be near her sister-in-law. Marissa immediately noticed something was wrong and stood next to Steph, able to hear the faint shouting down the phone at Steph. Ella began to cry loudly.

"God Steph, you couldn't look after me and you can't look after Ella! You're an awful bitch of a mother! Whilst you're travelling around with wrestling what the fuck is happening to my daughter…do you take her with you?"

"It's none of your business. Ella is my daughter, not yours. You've never shown any interest in her and I love her."

"What kind of mother doesn't have a stable home for her family? Maybe Ella should come and stay with me instead if you. She deserves better than a bitch like you…"

Steph couldn't take much more, she tried hard not to scream down the phone at him. "I've filed a police report against you, you should be in jail for the things you did to me!"

There was some silence, before Hunter laughed evilly. His laughs would echo in Steph's head for the rest of the weekend.

"Just wanted to wish you good luck in your match at Wrestlemania, I'll be watching you."

He hung up the phone, but Steph couldn't move. She held the phone by her ear, unable to breathe. After holding her breath for a while, she let go of the phone, it fell to the floor and broke into several pieces. Marissa had put down Ella and stroked Steph's hair trying to calm her.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Marissa whispered to her. "Everything's fine Steph, you're safe here with me."

Marissa words calmed Steph and she finally gasped for breathe. Steph's legs gave way and Marissa guided her onto the floor making sure she didn't hurt herself. Finally tears began to roll down Steph's cheeks as she cried uncontrollably. Marissa just held Steph head to her shoulder and stroked her hair. It had been the first time that Steph had heard from Hunter since he had walked out on her, it had all been too much for her. Even though they had split over six months ago, Steph hadn't moved on completely. She longed for the days when she and Hunter were happy, she wanted to be part of a loving relationship once again.

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I hope you liked it! Please review it and let me know your thoughts and feelings.


	12. Consequences

Hey! I'm so sorry about the lack of updates, my account was frozen. But I'm back now and I have this extra long chapter for you all. After next week I'll have loads of spare time and updates will become regular again. I'm so sorry to keep you all in suspense. Enjoy!

**WARNING This seen contains some strong language and graphic violent scenes. Not suitable for young children or those who get nightmares easily!**

**disclaimer:** The WWE own everything, I own nothing!

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After Triple H's phone call, Steph couldn't face going to New York by herself, so she waited at Shane's house for him to return, then Shane called Kennedy, his right-hand businessman and bodyguard, to escort Steph to New York. After Shane had comforted her sister and made some phone calls to her phone company to block her number, Steph cried a little more as she said goodbye to her daughter, then Shane personally drove them to the airport. Steph was scared to say goodbye to Shane, even though she would be seeing him the next day. In the airport Steph didn't want to let go of him.

"Be brave little sis, everything is going to be fine." He whispered to her.

She wiped away the tears and left her brother as she boarded the plane. Kennedy sat next to her and held her hand on the plane, his fingers rubbing her palms to calm her. Steph's head pounded with constant thought running through her head, she had practically forgotten about the date she had arranged. Sometime just after take off, with the help of Kennedy's boring high-school stories, Steph fell asleep.

"Steffie babe, wake up. We're in New York," was the next thing she remembered.

Kennedy shook her arm to wake her and Steph's eyes slowly opened, realising where she was. People around her were gathering their things together to exit the plane. Steph rubbed her eyes and then looked at her hands, they were covered in black mascara splodges.

'I must look like a monster!' she thought.

Steph was wearing an old 'Shane O'Mac' t-shirt and jeans, along with a baseball cap and sunshades to cover her panda eyes. The last thing she wanted now was to be hassled by fans. Kennedy wrapped an arm around her and helped guide her to their waiting limo as she stumbled from tiredness. As they got in the limo Steph tucked her legs underneath her and rested her head on Kennedy's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and stroked her back, making her shiver. He was one of the few men Steph felt safe with. Kennedy and Michelle were Shane's best friends, they were strong people who loved the wrestling business and the McMahon's. Shane and Steph both trusted Kennedy with their lives.

"Steffie don't go to sleep again, it'll only be ten minutes till we get to the hotel."

Steph didn't want to sleep anymore. The noises, smells and sights of New York had awoken her. Steph stared out of the window at the lights that flashed past her, the number of people in the streets overwhelmed her. It was so much different to the cities in Florida that she had been used to. The limo pulled outside the grand hotel that the wrestlers were staying in. Kennedy got out of the limo first to check the area and check them in, then he came back to fetch Steph and show her to her room. She was in room 1269, Kennedy in a childish way begged her to swap rooms as he was in 1265 and wanted to be in the '69' room! She laughed, unlocked her door and shut it before he could enter in after her.

Steph walked into the room and collapsed on the bed, closed her eyes and relaxed, it had been the first time that day that she had been left alone. Her mind couldn't help but wonder back to Hunter's words, was she really a 'bitch of a mother'? At no point since she began training to be a wrestler had she really doubted that this was best for Ella. Paul was unpredictable and the cruelty he had put her through…she couldn't let the same thing happen to Ella. This wasn't Steph's 1st choice for Ella but them staying at home was no longer an option. She needed to be on the road with her friends and new found family…she needed them and Ella needed them too.

A knock at the door startled Steph out of her thoughts. The knock had shocked her and her heart was beating twice as fast, her hands were trembling.

'One phone call and I'm knocked back to square one.'

"Steph it's Kennedy, I've got your suitcases."

Steph got up and walked over to the door and let him in. She half smiled at him, then wrapped her arms around tightly. He returned the hug and once again started to stroke her back to calm her.

"What's wrong?"

"When you knocked, I got scared and started shaking. I guess I'll never be able to get rid of my demons."

He kissed her on the forehead. "There are only so many things I can protect you from, but you have to learn to protect yourself from yourself!"

Steph began to calm down, Kennedy had that effect on her. "Oh Kennedy, you're such a good man. One day I know that Christy will wake up and see what a great boyfriend you would be."

Kennedy sighed, hoping that she was right.

* * *

Chris stood in the foyer of the hotel waiting for Steph. About half an hour ago his wife had called him to have another row with him, this time about the fact that he hadn't been out to visit her that week…that he hadn't made any effort to repair the damage from their last argument. Chris had found himself so angry that he had hung up on her and immediately gone to the foyer wanting to see Stephanie. He felt that Jessica's constant accusations of him cheating on her were pushing him into actually cheating on her. He was doubting his own love for his wife, but these were being affected by his feeling for another woman. Chris constantly fantasised about pulling Steph towards him, kissing her and then sleeping with her. He fantasised about everything in so much detail that he was finding it harder to be near her without being turned on. Tonight would take all of his self control.

It got to quarter to eight and Jericho was growing tired of waiting. Was she standing him up? Jericho went over to the reception desk and, after much convincing that he knew Stephanie, plus some flirting with the receptionist, he managed to get her room number. He stormed up to her room and banged in her door.

Steph had been asleep on her bed and the banging had woken her. She sat up on the bed and stretched, when Jericho banged on the door once again. Steph felt her heart race and body shake once again that day. She tentatively made her way over to the door and peered through the eye of the door and seeing it was Chris, she opened it.

"Chris, I'm so surprised! What are you doing here?" she said as she yawned.

Chris gave her a strange look.

"What?" she asked.

Steph looked down at herself, realising that she was in her silk dressing gown that barely covered her crotch. To make things worse she had fidgeted during her sleep and the top of the dressing gown had become baggy, half of her breast was hanging out of the gown! She had been too scared about the knock to realising what she was wearing!

Steph immediately pulled the dressing gown around her chest. "Oh my Gosh! I'm so sorry! Let's go inside!"

Chris took some deep breaths after remembering one of his Steph fantasies, where he goes to her door and she answers it completely naked. "It's OK Steph, I've seen you wearing a lot less…like your ring attire!" he said trying to lighten the mood.

Steph went into the bathroom with her suitcase which she hadn't unpacked. "I'll just get dressed."

"Good, I don't think the restaurant would be happy with you turning up in your pyjamas!"

Steph paused and thought for a second before opening the door and peering round it to look him in the eye.

"Restaurant?" she asked.

"Yeah, the restaurant I'm taking you for dinner."

He noticed as it suddenly clicked in her head what he was talking about. She looked over at a clock to see the time was eight and that she had been half an hour late.

"Oh Chris, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot that I…I…called you up to ask you out for dinner earlier today!" she said giggling at how silly she had been.

He joined in laughing at her. "God Steph, I thought I was the blonde one of the pair of us."

Steph smiled at him before she began to think of Hunter and how he had distracted her from her date with Chris. She would be feeling the consequences of his phone call for a long time. Tears began to well up in her eyes once again.

"Steph is everything OK."

"No…not really. It's Paul…Hunter…he called me today. The whole thing has left me a little jumpy. That's why I forgot about dinner."

"Oh," he said, slightly disappointed. He had been looking forward to spending this time with Steph all day. He had no idea it would be Steph's husband ruining it for him. "Look Steph, do you want to cancel and we can go for dinner another night?"

Steph paused. "I'm really sorry Chris, I don't really feel like leaving this room tonight."

"I understand…I'll just leave you alone. Goodbye Steph."

Chris turned around and grabbed the door handle. Just as the door was about to open Steph's voice froze him.

"Chris! Just cause I don't want to leave this room doesn't mean I want you to!"

He turned around to gaze into her eyes. Both of them could sense the other one wanting to be near them. Steph closed the door to change her clothes and Chris bit his lip as happiness consumed him. Chris took of his formal jacket and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his light blue shirt. He looked at the card on top of the TV to see what movies were on, and looked at the room service menu.

Steph came out of the bathroom in her pyjama bottoms and a vest top with her hair roughly scrapped up into a ponytail. She watched Jericho secretly. She admired how handsome he looked and cherished in the fact that it was Chris not Dave that she had called. As much as she liked Dave, she felt more chemistry with Chris. Shame about his wife. Tonight would ironically take all of her self control to not jump on him and rip off his shirt.

"I really fancy a pizza and beer!" she said as he turned to see her watching him.

"Really? Well I'm paying then. I didn't know you were a beer drinker?"

She walked over to look at the menu. "Only on special occasions. Well actually…"

He interrupted her. "Are you saying this is a special occasion?"

She smiled at him shyly. "I guess so. Well…mine's a small ham and pineapple all to myself. What movie should we watch?"

Chris grinned evilly. "Have you ever seen the Japanese version of The Ring? They're showing it tonight."

'Posh little Stephanie wont have a clue!' he thought.

"Really? Well I'm not much of a movie watcher. What's the movie about?"

"Don't worry you'll see."

Half an hour later Steph was curled up practically on Chris' lap scared stiff. Steph wasn't the only one getting 'stiff' as Chris had a perfect view of Steph's cleavage every time he looked down! He had found a way to wrap her round his finger.

"Are you sure you want to watch this? You know we can put something else on if you're finding it too scary?"

Her voice was shaky. "No…it's fine. I can handle this, I'm not scared."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. He looked over to her pizza, she had barely touched it. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't bare the thought of her letting him go.

Steph found her concentration going from the movie to Chris's wondering hands. She felt them as his moved in a circle at the base of her spine, then they moved round to the side of her body. Her body seized up as he touched her.

"Stop that! It tickles!"

"Oh really…" he said, thinking it was a challenge.

He carried on tickling her as she squirmed next to him, eventually bursting into a loud laugh. She started to tickle him back.

"Oh no you don't!"

He scooped her up in his arms and threw her onto the bed. Within seconds he had one hand pinning her hands down and one hand innocently tickling her sides. Steph's body writhed underneath him trying to escape. She was in fits of laughter. Within moments Chris has stopped and Steph was gasping for breath underneath him. A sudden realisation happened between them as they stared into each others eyes, the sexual tension had reached a high between them. Chris's tickling hand began to stroke her arms that he still had pinned down. Steph instinctively closed her eyes expecting him to kiss her. Chris lowered his head towards her and focused on her lips. They seemed more pouted and a paler pink than normal. Within that moment Chris couldn't help but compare them to Jessica's lips.

Chris shifted his body to the side and sat next to Steph as he let her go and ran his fingers through her hair. Steph opened her eyes and suddenly realised what had happened, she sat up next to Chris and both took some deep breaths to calm down. The sexual tension between them suddenly turned into an atmosphere of awkwardness.

"I'm really sorry Stephanie, I shouldn't have jumped on you that." Chris said eventually.

"It's fine really." Steph didn't know what else she could say.

"I hope this doesn't change things between us. I really want us to stay friends."

"Of course."

Steph threw her arms around his neck and pulled them together in an innocent hug, the tension between them disappeared.

"Now, let's go back to watching the movie and eating pizza."

That night Chris left Stephanie's room and Steph slept in her bed…alone.

* * *

Within the darkness of the McMahon mansion, a man tip toed round barely making a noise. The only traces of him being there were on the security monitors. But the tapes had been removed, there would be no recording of him being there. The security guard that had tried to raise the alarm had sentenced himself to death, he lay on the floor of the security office, his head cracked open and blood and brains oozed onto the floor…the once blue carpet forever stained blood red. The sledgehammer used to kill him had been gently wiped clean with a blanket, red hand prints would haunt the blanket forever.

The killer made his way up the stairs. He paused as one of the stairs creaked and he held his breath. It's hard to move around delicately when you're a six foot four 260 pound monster. He carried on until he reached the top of his stairs and then made his way to Vince and Linda's bedroom. He'd been in this house a million times before, Vince had been like a father to him…now he was planning to kill him.

Hunter knew that the McMahon house was always too hot, so the bedroom door would be left open. He also knew that his baby girl would be in her crib at the end of their bed. He crept through the door and rage began to fill him. This had all been Steffie's fault, she was the reason he was doing this. That bitch was getting what she deserved! The ultimate pain!

Hunter lifted the sledgehammer high above the bed and using the moonlight to guide his blows in the dark, forced it downwards through Linda's chest. Linda's eyes opened wide and her body began to spasm, waking Vince. Hunter hoisted the sledgehammer high above him once again.

"Hunter?" Vince's words seemed lost as Hunter swung the sledgehammer once again and practically ripped Vince's head off of his neck. Hunter jumped onto the end of the bed and screamed as he swung sledgehammer again and again, blood being scattered throughout the room and pouring off of the bed. Finally Hunter stopped, the remains of Vince and Linda indistinguishable as one big mushy mess of flesh and bone. Ella's screams echoes through the almost empty house.

Hunter jumped off of the bed and looked down at Ella. He wiped his hands on her cloudy white blankets, then scooped her up into his arms. He rocked her sideways trying to comfort her, but her wails just seemed to grow louder. In another context, Hunter almost would have looked like the perfect devoted father.

"Shhh my Ella. Everything's OK now, I'm here to take you away. I'll find you a new mummy, one that will love you, not like that bitch Stephanie."

Ella's wails got even louder.

"Ella, why wont you be quiet?"

Ella's wails became even louder. Ella's face was turning purple and Hunter's ears began to ring. She was angering him.

"Ella McMahon, be quiet…NOW!"

He shifted her so that he had hold of her legs. He dangled her upside down and shook her by her legs.

"ELLA I'VE HAD ENOUGH! SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Hunter swung Ella by her legs and threw her, her body like a rag doll's as it headed towards a wall….

The alarm began to ring and Steph awoke on Saturday morning in a cold sweat. She gasped for breath as she felt nauticous, recollecting her dream. Steph threw her bed sheets to the floor and jumped out of bed. Feeling dizzy she stumbled to the bathroom using the walls of her room to help support her. As she reached the bathroom she collapsed to her knees and hung her head over the toilet. Steph began to throw up the remains of her pizza and beer from the night before. As her stomach began to settle, Steph sat back on the bathroom floor and began to cry, her body shaking. The constant abuse she had taken from Hunter had left her with panic attacks that she thought she had overcome, but his phone call had just returned her to a former Stephanie, weak and nervous. Steph, not finding the strength to remove herself from the floor, cried herself into a dazed state, where she would wait for someone to come and help her.

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I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with the nature of this scene. It'll probably be a one-off, I think I just needed a break from complicated love writing and decided to vent frustration through the medium of horror!

Please let me know what you think and where you want the story to go next. All critisms are welcome!


	13. It's the big one!

Hi Guys! A quick update as this is an important chapter, it's the Wrestlemania 23 Chapter! Feels like it was forever but we're finally here. Oh and look out for another update in a couple of days, the next chapter after this will be a big chapter with big plot revelations. **Hint:** Someone will be getting hooked up with Stephanie. But who? Dave or Chris? You might wanna read this chapter before you start to speculate! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, the WWE owns everything!

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After several knocks at Stephanie's door Stacy began to get a little worried. She went to find Kennedy, who she knew had been granted a dummy key that allowed him access to all the wrestler's rooms. The WWE crew had some-what of a wild reputation, it was Kennedy's sole responsibility to keep an eye on everyone and punish those who played up whilst on the road. Within a few minutes, Kennedy was turning the key of Steph's room. He and Stacy walked in to see Steph asleep on the floor of the bathroom. Stacy immediately ran over to her to check on her.

"Steph? Steph! Are you ok?"

Stacy gently shook Steph to wake her up.

"Hmm? Stacy, I'm sorry…am I late? I must have dozed off," she mumbled.

Stacy gagged slightly from the sick smell that lingered in the bathroom. Stacy gathered together the bits of tissue paper Steph had used to dry her tears and wipe her mouth, she flushed them down the toilet.

"Are you ill? Kennedy, she's been sick and she looks very pale."

"Steffie?" Kennedy muttered, overwhelmed with fear for his friend's health.

Steph regained her strength and managed to pull herself off of the floor without their help, relieving the pair slightly.

"I'm not sick, I just had a bit of a nightmare. Well…not a bit, more like a full-blown epic of a nightmare!" she smiled at them and the pair smiled back.

"I'll leave you two to sort yourselves out. Don't forget to be at the arena at two."

As Kennedy left and shut the door, Steph looked puzzled. "Two?"

"Our run through got moved back a couple of hours, means two more hours to clean you up in! Now you get in the shower and then you can tell me a little more about what's going on."

Stacy spent the rest of the day by Steph's side. The last thing Steph needed was to be alone. The pair decided to share a changing room at MSG. As they entered they room a bunch of white roses lay on a table in the room. Stacy picked them up with a grin on her face.

"Ooo they're so pretty!" she said.

Stacy smelt them and sighed with a grin on her face. She held them under Steph's nose and the sweet smell calmed Steph.

"Who are they from and who are they for? You know white roses are my favourite flowers."

Stacy looked at the card and then frowned and pretended to cry, she then smiled and passed them over to Steph. Steph read the card:

'Dear Stephanie, I wanted to wish you all of the best tonight. The past two weeks have been great seeing you again. I hope that you blossom in the ring tonight, just like these roses are blossoming for you. I'll see you later.'

Steph didn't even think through her next reaction. She put the roses down on the table and pulled out her phone and dialled a number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Chris! I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? Well, last night was no problem. I had lots of fun."

"Yeah me too. But I wanted to thank you for the roses."

"Roses? Oh yeah…the roses!" Chris was puzzled but decided to take the credit for someone else's gift to her. If they were stupid enough to leave the card anonymous, why the hell shouldn't he take advantage? But what also disturbed him in that moment was that someone else had given her flowers…someone else was interested in his Stephanie!

"How did you know that white roses were my favourite?"

"Just a lucky coincidence. Look Steph I got to go. I'll catch you later."

"Ok. Bye."

Chris hung up, the pressed another button on his phone and held it to his ear. "I'm sorry Jess to put you on hold but it's just gonna be a bit of a hectic day."

"It's OK, I understand."

"Look Jess, what I was saying before…I still love you but things have got to change between us. I don't want us to carrying on heading the way we're going. I was thinking, maybe we should have a trial separation and see how things go? I'm not ready to give up the ghost yet, but I just need a break from the constant rows…"

"Me too Chris, I understand."

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Stephanie was very nervous, but not for the same reasons her body was used to. This time she was nervous about her match. She and Stacy were stood watching the match before them. It was Wrestlemania 23 and it was Kane/Undertaker in a Casket Match. It was to be their last ever match and both wrestlers would be retiring. No-one knew what was in store. The whole of the backstage crew were emotional about the whole thing, Kane and the Undertaker had become backstage veterans and saying goodbye to them would be difficult.

Steph and Stacy watched as Kane chokeslammed the Undertaker from the ringside into a casket. Kane grinned as he slammed the casket shut.

"Oh my God! The Undertaker has finally been defeated at Wrestlemania! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" JR was shouting.

Kane took the casket and wheeled it towards a dirt pile where he planned on finally burying The Undertaker once and for all. Kane put the casket in the hole and ordered his pregnant wife Lita to start filling it with dirt. Suddenly the lights went black and a film clip started playing. Steph wasn't sure what it was playing, the backstage TVs were only showing certain cameras views. She found out later the screen had said 'The dead may rise one last time…The time has finally come…Time for us to go back where we belong…A darker dimension…Where we will…REST…IN…PEACE'. The lights came back on and the Undertaker was out of the casket and stood by the grave choking Kane. The Undertaker took Kane and chokeslammed him into the grave. The Undertaker stood and stared at Lita as if hypnotising her, he then looked out to the crowds one last time…the crowds were cheering like crazy and chanting his name. He raised his fists into the air one last time before jumping into the grave, just as Lita pulled the lever for tons of dirt to crash down and bury them both alive. Lita shook her head and snapped out of it, then she rushed to the grave and knelt over it crying for her husband and brother-in-law. Wrestlemania cut into commercials as the ring was cleared ready for Stacy and Steph.

Stacy was the one shaking this time. "How the hell are we supposed to follow that?"

She was scared that their carefully planned match would be thrown away due to it's positioning in the show. Steph threw her arms around her friend.

"Look, it's our job…you know this. They go out there and provide an emotional draining match. We're here to give the fans their breather, without us the show would just tire the fans out. We can do this Stacy, we may not be Kane and the Undertaker, but we can do this!"

Steph joined Stacy in a prayer just before they went on.

"Picture before the match?" A photographer photographed the pair together seconds before Stacy's music started playing.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the following match is a chair match for the WWE Woman's Championship. Making her way to the ring, she is the WWE Woman's Champion, Stacy Keibler."

Stacy came out wearing her 'bad girl' baby tee and hot pants, with the belt on her shoulder. She walked down to the ring and did her usual ring entrance. Stacy was getting a pop from the crowd, despite her recent role as a heel.

But Stephanie was overwhelmed by her reaction. The fans were going crazy for her. She wondered if this was just a temporary reaction due to her only just returning. Steph always sold herself short, for a WWE Diva her skills in the ring were one of the best…she was almost as good as Trish.

Steph was wearing baggy pants and a matching colour tight top revealing her cleavage. She carried a steal chair on her shoulder and her hair was scraped back into a tight plait. She walked to the ring with a completely serious look on her face, barely acknowledging the crowd. Her face showed lots of anger towards Stacy. As she went into the ring she walked straight up to Stacy nose-to-nose. The referee separated them. Steph turned her back to drop the chair in the corner and Stacy attacked her from behind.

Their matched carried on for 7 minutes. There were some great moments in the match, including a spinning head kick to Steph as she went to hit Stacy with the chair causing Steph to get hit directly in the face with the chair. It had cut her lip open and the rest of the match Steph was wrestling with blood running down her chest. It didn't hurt, but looked really effective! Steph got her own back though, when she slammed Stacy onto a chair.

'Looks like it'll be rubbing the oil on Stacy tonight! Will make a nice change!' Steph thought at the time.

After the slam onto the chair, Steph did her handspring back somersault onto Stacy. She then dragged her to the corner and got up on the turnbuckle, hitting Stacy with the 450 splash. Steph went for the pin…1…2…3.

"The winner of the match and new WWE Women's Champion, Stephanie McMahon!"

Steph stood on the corner with the belt high above her head. Despite the Undertaker match before, the fans were making it worthwhile. She had only been back two weeks and she was the two-time Women's Champion. Then it suddenly dawned on her.

'Oh God, I'm the bosses sister and I've come in and won the title! Everyone's gonna hate me, but be nice to me at the same time. What have I gotten myself into?'

* * *

Steph celebrated her victory then waited behind the curtains for Stacy to appear stretchered out of the ring. As Stacy was unbuckled from the stretcher Steph tried to clean up some of the blood on her body.

"Are you OK?" they both asked simultaneously, then they smiled at each other.

"I was so scared when I saw your lip got cut open, I thought I was going to faint from the queasiness!" Stacy said.

"Really? Well when you landed on the chair my first thought was I'd be the one rubbing the cream on your back this time!"

They both laughed before Stacy held the Women's Championship in her hands one last time.

"Well, hopefully this is the beginning of something good between us. You better keep my title warm for me," she joked.

Steph helped Stacy stumble to the medical bay where they could clean each other up. On the way they walked past Dave Batista, who was doing his usual pacing up and down with nerves before his World Title match. Steph left Stacy to go back to him, she really wanted to see him and wish him good luck. She hadn't seen Dave since he gave her his number almost a week ago and he was becoming a good friend to her.

"Dave? Good luck with your match."

He smiled at her. Why had she never noticed how attractive his smile was before…or his eyes? They were deep and intense as they stared at her, any other person might have found them intimidating…but Steph knew what Dave was like.

"Thank you so much. Congratulations on your match, you were incredible. Must have been tough to follow Undertaker and Kane?"

"Well yeah, but it's all over now…"

Dave interrupted her by approaching her, his stroke the edge of her lips. "That was a nasty cut you got there."

"I'll be fine." Dave sent a shiver inside her. He was such a gentleman towards her.

"So…did you like your flowers?"

"Huh?"

"You know the white roses, remember at the Charity Party? You told me they were your favourite."

"Oh Yeah."

Steph felt a knot in her stomach. She knew that Dave was telling the truth, how else would be know that she was given white roses? Why would Chris have lied about them like that? Dave always seemed to take notice of the little things that Steph told him.

Steph's stare was distant. "Is everything OK?" Dave asked, snapping her back to reality.

"Oh yeah, I'm just a bit…you know…being it's Wrestlemania and all, it's a bit distracting. The roses were beautiful. Thank you."

He smiled down at her melting her heart. "I'm glad I could make you happy."

He lent forward to give her a kiss on her forehead, but Steph's head was filled with thoughts. Why was she so caught up over Chris? If he had lied to her once, had he lied to her more times? Chris had a wife, Dave had no baggage…and was completely infatuated with her. Just before he kissed her forehead, Steph tilted her head upwards so that Dave's lips met hers, both of them a little surprised. After a second both lent naturally into the kiss, Steph's lips cold and Dave's hot, the heat travelling between them. Dave, not wanting the kiss to end, cupped her face in his palms and stroke the side of her face. Her lips were slightly swollen and tasted of sweat and blood. Both of them waited for the other to break the kiss, but neither did. It was Michelle, Kennedy's business partner that shocked them into breaking apart.

"Err…Batista? We need to get you into position. You're match is next."

Dave looked at her and nodded. She raised an eyebrow at Steph then walked off to find Edge, Dave's opponent and the current World Champion. Dave turned back to stare into Steph's eyes, his fingers stroking underneath her chin as he moved away from her.

"Will I see you later at the after party?" he asked her.

She didn't know what to say, so instead she told him what he wanted to hear. "Of course you will."

He smiled and walked away as Steph turned to enter the medical room, but was surprised to see Stacy hiding behind the door.

"You kissed him! You kissed him!" she said excitedly.

Steph grinned. "Yeah I did!"

"What was it like?"

"It was nice."

"But…what about Chris Jericho? I thought you were into him. But Dave gave you those flowers, not Chris? I'm so confused Steph! Why can't you just be happy with one man?"

Steph laughed and decided not to reply. Her head was a mess of thoughts. She had feelings for Dave but they weren't as strong as her feelings for Chris. Why couldn't she have picked the easier man?

* * *

Please review and let me know your thoughts, cause I love to read them all. Thank you! 


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